Accepting Destiny
by Faeny
Summary: [AU][Aphrodite POV] She's the daughter of two famous pros: Aphromoo and Doublelift. She's determined not to follow her parents' footsteps. So what happens when her best friend is offered a spot on an Asian team that'll require him to move? Will she join forces with Adept and the gang? But more importantly will she finally accept her destiny? [Pre-Season 2015]
1. Meeting

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

Writing Aphrodite's POV for NaNoWriMo. This takes place after the first chapter of _Fighting Destiny _which can be found in my profile.

* * *

><p><strong>VICTORY<strong>

I clicked **CONTINUE** and skipped the end game stats.

I sighed, releasing the breath I didn't know I was holding. That game was intense.

"I honestly thought we were going to lose that one," I muttered. I threw my arms into the air and stretched. I didn't realize how tense I was until I felt my sore muscles.

"Naw, we had it in the bag – baited them at level 1 into thinking we were complete trash," responded my duo queue partner.

I rolled my eyes as I thought back to the beginning of the game when we did that stupid invade. Hurtle led the way to the enemy's buff and convinced me to follow. The rest of our team wasn't on the same page since our jungler spammed a bunch of retreat pings and told us not to go. I told Hurtle that we should listen, but he insisted that this was going to be fun. This resulted with us giving up the first two kills to the enemy team – or should I say the enemy AD carry. _Whoops_. Laning phase was not fun after that.

"Let's not do that again, okay?"

"Oh c'mon Aphrodite," groaned Hurtle, "it was only normals. Trolling never hurt anyone."

I giggled. That was a very Hurtle-like mentality.

"Let's play another game now that we're all warmed up," I suggested, taking a sip from my water bottle.

"Yeah, let me re-invite you."

I looked at the bottom-right corner of my client to accept his invite only to find another notification appear. I rose my eyebrow when I saw the friend request.

**The user Adept wants to add you to their list and see your presence online.**

"Hm, someone is trying to add me," I informed Hurtle. I typed the summoner name into the search bar, trying to figure out who the person was.

"What! I didn't get a friend request!" Hurtle jokingly complained, "Who was it?"

"Some guy named Adept," I replied, looking at his profile. '_Challenger, eh? Why is he addi—'_

"Oh hey, that's the Lucian we were playing with earlier," Hurtle interrupted my thoughts.

"Wait really?" I looked at the person's match history and confirmed that it was indeed the Lucian we just played with. I opted to turn off summoner names so I never bothered to see who I was playing with.

'_How did we get matched with a challenger in normals?_' I mused before rolling my eyes once more. It was probably because I duo with Hurtle so much.

In terms of ranking, I was currently sitting at Platinum II while Hurtle was #4 in Challenger. When the season started, we were both placed in Gold IV. However, I just didn't enjoy playing ranked games as much as Hurtle. He climbed the ladder pretty high to the point where we couldn't duo queue anymore. That only further demotivated me from playing ranked games since he was generally my AD carry.

Hurtle mained AD carry just like his father did back in the day while I mained support. It's kind of funny how things worked out. It was about five years ago when I swore that I was never going to touch this game, despite what my parents wanted.

Naturally our families were good friends due to years of competition together. Though things are definitely different now than they were when Hurtle and I were younger. When I was twelve, my father, Doublelift had an affair with Madlife while he was in Korea as a guest for Worlds. It was part of the reason why I didn't want anything to do with the game. Despite the affair, my parents stayed together (though Doublelift had to sleep on the living room couch for two months).

On the other hand, Hurtle's parents split ways after our third year of secondary school. His parents WildTurtle and Xpecial claimed that they were just too different and decided it was best for them to move on. This meant many nights with Hurtle crashing at my place while his parents tried to figure out who got to keep him. This also meant playing League of Legends to keep Hurtle's troubled mind preoccupied.

I swear that's the only reason why I started playing.

We had endless nights of grinding games to get me to level 30 and I've spent countless hours learning the game so one day we could play ranked games together. My parents were definitely happy to help me with my studying. But now, finally in our last year of secondary school, I was getting tired of spamming games and climbing the ladder.

Nowadays Hurtle just plays a bunch of normal games with me to keep me company. But when I'm off doing other things, he spams a bunch of ranked games. He was determined to reach the first spot.

"Should I accept his invite?" I asked aloud, not particularly asking Hurtle.

"Meh, he was okay." Hurtle voiced his opinion anyways, but it didn't matter because I had already clicked **Accept**.

The name Adept immediately appeared on my friends list and I wondered if I should say "hi".

"So when are you going to accept my invite?"

"Oh shoot! Sorry," I quickly accepted the game invite.

"Don't tell me you're falling for another AD carry," Hurtle humored.

"Oh shut up."

* * *

><p>"Gosh that heal is so annoying," I complained as my efforts to poke down the enemy Lucian was countered by Nami's 'Ebb and Flow'. Hurtle and I were currently being pushed into our tower. He was playing Jinx while I was playing Thresh. We weren't having a good time in lane with all the poke coming our way.<p>

However, my frustrations disappeared when I heard the ping: **On my way**.

Lee Sin signaled that he was on his way to our lane. I pinged our tri-bush since it was most likely warded and he decided to walk down the lane. As he neared towards us, I pondered on how I was going to set up this gank.

The enemy jungler showed top lane. '_Okay, this can work_.' I felt more confident about this gank.

"I'm going to go in," I informed Hurtle as I clicked forwards.

My champion moved up making it fairly obvious that a gank was going to happen. I watched as Nami sent her 'Aqua Prison' towards me. _Flash_. _Q_. I managed to dodge the bubble and shot my 'Death Sentence' forward.

Thresh tugged on the enemy Lucian who had accidentally used his 'Relentless Pursuit' into the hook. I grinned, it was so obvious that he was going to use it so I had aimed it towards the side. I tossed my 'Dark Passage' behind me and took the ride to Lucian. I used my 'Flay' to draw him closer to me, in time for Lee Sin to land his 'Sonic Wave' on Lucian. Lucian flashed too late as he was trying to dodge the skillshot. Lee Sin flew towards him with the second active and used his 'Tempest/Cripple' combo to slow down the enemy Lucian before Nami exhausted him.

As this was happening, Hurtle shot his 'Zap!', stacking the slow that was already on Lucian. He switched over to Fishbones and flashed to get the last couple of hits on Lucian while Lee Sin jumped onto Nami. Using Jinx's passive, Hurtle ran closer and threw down his 'Flame Choppers!' and I exhausted Nami. Due to the unexpected slow, Nami miscalculated her flash and flashed into the traps.

**Double Kill****.**

"Good job," Hurtle praised as we both started our recall animations.

"_IS THAT MADLIFE?_" Lee Sin typed into chat. I frowned at the sight of my dad's ex-lover's name.

"_More like Badlife_," Hurtle jokingly replied. I smiled at his comment.

"_What, rude_," responded the Lee Sin. Hurtle didn't try to defend himself even though he wasn't calling me bad like the Lee Sin assumed. He was actually dissing Madlife. He knew I wasn't very fond of that person, even if his name was supposed to be used as a compliment.

"Thanks Hurtle."

"For what?" Hurtle asked, trying to act clueless. He had a very hard time expressing his emotions, but I knew that it was his way of showing that he cared.

"For being you," was my only response. He didn't say anything after that and we just continued on with the game.

* * *

><p>1103/14


	2. Introduction

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

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><p>"Man, I can't wait to be done with school," Hurtle muttered as we walked out of our Chemistry class. Classes were finally done for the day and we were both heading for the school's exit.<p>

"Are you staying with Uncle Xpecial this weekend?" I asked him. It was out of habit that I called everyone by their summoner name, even if they didn't play the game anymore. I even call my parents by their old nicknames.

The name Aphrodite was inspired by my dad, Aphromoo. He used to joke about it, claiming that we were the Aphro Clan. Once Doublelift felt left out and suggested a name change, but I told him that Aphrolift sounded stupid. Plus, matching couple names were _so_ cheesy!

Hurtle's name was kind of a mix of his parents'. He had a hard time combining the two and came up with stupid names like Xturtle or WildXpec. I only laughed at him when he suggested them. Then he recalled someone mentioning that Uncle Xpecial used to be referred to as a hamster. Therefore Hurtle was formed... the combination of a hamster and a turtle.

"Yeah, dad is going to take me to watch LCS this weekend. He's appearing as a guest or something," Hurtle shrugged like it was only natural. Which I guess it was since Uncle Xpecial was in the first three World Championships.

"Wait, but isn't EU LCS played during the weekdays?" I asked, confused.

I was pretty sure that NA LCS was played on the weekends because my parents insisted that I watch and support the NA scene. Sometimes it made me wonder why they even bothered to move over to Germany. The explanation went something along the lines of 'it is where all the retired League pros go'. I scoffed at that reason. I'm sure it was just because they wanted to expose me to the pro scene while being able to travel to somewhere that wasn't Los Angeles.

"They're switching it up this weekend," Hurtle responded, "Do you want to go?"

"Nah, I have to catch up on homework." My excuse was lame, but Hurtle didn't press it any further. I wasn't really interested in the professional scene.

I already gave up my resolve to never play the game so I didn't want to further indulge in it. I would never admit that the game was actually kind of fun and addicting.

Speaking of fun and addicting, "Are we still playing games tonight?"

"Yeah, just give me a couple of hours. Got to grab dinner with pops and some of his friends."

I rose an eyebrow at the mention of friends, "Former pros?"

I knew Hurtle was very interested in pursuing the professional scene and his father was probably trying to get him connected. I have to admit, it'd be pretty cool to see my best friend on TV.

Yeah, that's right – on TV. League of Legends was now broadcasted on TV almost everywhere. It's kind of a big deal, but that doesn't mean I want to make a career out of it.

"Yeah, he mentioned something about potential team mates."

"Good luck with that."

"Yeah, because we both know how _great_ I am with people," Hurtle joked. I just smiled in response. He was a bit of a troll at times and a bit blunt to the point where he offended people. But I'm sure that once his teammates got to know him, they would see that he was actually a good guy. After all, it took me a few years before I got along with him and now we're best friends.

"Text me when you're on the way back, I'll probably just play some 3s while I wait."

"Ew. You really need to stop playing that mode."

"What! It's soo much fun," I argued, lightly smacking his arm.

"How are 50 minute games fun? The average game should only be 20 minutes!"

I just sulked at that comment. I couldn't deny it. Sometimes my Twisted Treeline games lasted longer than a Summoner's Rift game.

"Whatever, just text me."

"Yes mother… ow!" I smacked him again before giving him a quick hug.

"See ya!" I yelled as I walked away.

"Crazy woman…" he muttered.

* * *

><p>"He won't be on until later… what no… I finished my homework before dinner… going to play some Twisted Treeline… the mode isn't trash, Dad!" I closed my bedroom door, ending the conversation I was having with my parents. They still treated me like I was a child. I'm already seventeen for heaven's sake!<p>

I rolled my eyes when I heard Doublelift ask Aphromoo, "Did she just close her door on me?" to which my other dad responded with, "Don't let it get to you. I'm sure she'll come around. I forgave you babe."

'_Ew pet names,_' I shuddered when I heard that. I knew I was being unreasonable, but I was having a hard time forgiving and forgetting. There was a time in my life when I loved both of my parents equally, but now it was difficult for me to do so.

"I guess I'll play something," I mumbled, opening up my League client. I could use a slight distraction right about now.

'_Alright! Twisted Treeline_.' I clicked on the **Play** button and selected my preferences. But before I could join the queue, I got a notification.

**Adept has invited you to play in a game.**

'_Oh hey, it's the guy who added me a week ago_.' I hit **Accept**. From what I remembered, he was a pretty good AD carry.

I entered the 'Team Select' room and noticed that I was the fourth member. There were two other names that I didn't recognize. _Cyan and Hades. _'_A color and a Greek God,_' I noted.

"_Ready?_" Adept typed and I immediately replied with "_Yes_."

I assumed that the three of them were in a call since he started right after I responded.

"_Want to join our call?_" Adept asked as we waited for our game. I was hesitant on joining since I didn't know any of them. Maybe if Hurtle was here, I'd consider joining. My parents also told me that I shouldn't talk to strangers. They just never said anything about never typing to them.

"_Not this time_." At least with this answer I wasn't completely rejecting him.

* * *

><p><em>'Why isn't she farming?!<em>'

Lane was really frustrating. I was stuck with the random that joined our team. Cyan refused to give her the jungle position so she was stuck with AD carry. She chose Ashe and would deliberately walk past our minions to poke the enemy's bot lane.

That's fine, she was zoning them out, but she did it when the minions were at our turret so she was also missing farm. I ended up having to be the one farming with the help of my 'Eye of the Storm'. Otherwise last hitting with Janna was quite difficult for me.

The Ashe pinged a few times asking for Cyan to come down and gank, but Cyan stuck to the upper side of the jungle – ganking only for her friends. This led to a fight in chat between the two.

"_Noob jungler_."

"_I have more CS than you do!_"

"_Bot lane is always pushed, easy gank_"

I sighed. I could only imagine Cyan complaining in their call.

"_Just ult Caitlyn_"

"_It's on cooldown_"

It kept going on between them and I was starting to get more irritated. The other two were relatively quiet in comparison.

I watched Cyan's Vi roam towards mid and charged up her 'Vault Breaker'. As soon as she hit the enemy Orianna, Adept's Zed moved in and used his ultimate 'Death Mark' along with his other skills. Orianna flashed and Vi used her 'Assault and Battery' immediately – securing the kill for Adept.

"_Good job_," I typed.

"_You just used your ult mid!_"

"_It just came back up_," Cyan defended and I sighed once more.

'_This is going to be a long game_.'

* * *

><p>We eventually won that game. The two solo laners were able to get fed and carry, thanks to all of Cyan's ganks in the top and mid lane.<p>

As I left the end game screen I got a message from Hurtle.

"_For someone who threatened me to text them, you sure take a long time to respond._"

'_Oh shoot_.' I had totally forgotten about it. "_Sorry, was in game!_"

"_50 minute Twisted Treeline?_"

"_Hey stop hating! But no, I played a Summoner's Rift_ game." Distracted by my conversation with Hurtle, I didn't notice that I received another game invite _– _this time from Cyan.

"_Going to join us? Cyan wants to draft,_" Adept messaged me.

"_Sure, I have another person, can I invite them?_" I asked without even bothering to ask Hurtle if he wanted to join. I knew he was going to play with me regardless.

"_Yeah sure_" and with that I accepted the invite and invited Hurtle.

"_HI EVERYONE!_" Hurtle immediately typed in chat, "_Is there a call?_" I guess I could join now that Hurtle was with me.

"_Uh yeah sure, information?_" Adept responded. He didn't seem too excited to add Hurtle and me to the call.

"Hey guys," Hurtle greeted as soon as we were added, "I'm Hurtle by the way."

"I'm Cyan," a silvery female voice replied.

"Hades," said a deep and soft-spoken voice. I could tell that he was a quiet one.

We got into 'Champion Select' and Cyan immediately banned Katarina as soon as it was her turn. '_I guess she was in that Katarina game_.' I had a mental sweat drop.

"Oh sorry, my mic was muted. I'm Adept, nice to meet you guys." His voice wasn't as deep as Hades, but it was filled with confidence. I wish I was more like that.

"H-hi. I'm Aphrodite." I cursed myself for stuttering slightly. I wasn't actually feeling nervous.

"WAIT, YOU'RE A GIRL?" Adept exclaimed. I could hear a face palm coming from the other side.

"Obviously. Aphrodite is the name of a Greek Goddess. Plus she's always playing support. How stereotypical of a girl can she be?" Cyan answered and I felt my cheeks become warm.

'_I-it's not like it's the only role I play! I just enjoy it the most!_' I mentally defended myself.

"Does that mean you're actually a guy?" Hurtle joked, "Since you're a jungle main?" Typical Hurtle coming to my rescue. I knew he was only joking, but I don't think Cyan saw it the same way.

"What, are you stalking my stats now?" Cyan jabbed back, "And for your information, do I sound like a guy to you?"

I mentally imagined Hurtle shrugging, "How do I know you're not using a voice changer?"

"If you guys have enough time to argue, could you two at least pick your champions before the timer runs out?" Hades said spoke out.

This effectively stopped the two from fighting anymore as they both chose their champions. Cyan locked in Evelynn while Hurtle selected Twitch.

"_Sorry about that, Cyan doesn't mean any harm. She's just kind of proud,_" Adept messaged me with an apology and I smiled weakly.

"_No worries, Hurtle is kind of the same. He's a bit of a troll, but he's just joking around,_" I informed him before selecting my champion.

I hovered over Nami, but decided to lock-in Morgana instead. She was a fairly easy champion to play. Now that Hurtle was my AD carry, I felt more confident about the game. He would definitely perform a lot better than that Ashe. Hopefully this match would show the others that Hurtle actually knew how to play the game well.

Once champion select finished, our team consisted of Shen, Syndra, Evelynn, Twitch, and Morgana. The enemy team had Singed, Lee Sin, Ahri, Vayne, and Alistar.

I leaned back as I waited for our game to load. It felt odd having a full premade since I typically played solo or with Hurtle. This meant that the other team was also a premade too, right? Their team communication was probably a lot better than ours.

Finally we loaded into the game.

"ALRIGHT! LET'S DO THIS BOYS!" Hurtle shouted, eliciting a groan from Cyan.

"Not this again," she murmured.

I giggled. _This should be fun_.

* * *

><p>1106/14


	3. The Offer

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

* * *

><p>"Aphy, wake up,"<p>

I slowly opened my eyes, only to be blinded by the bright light. I ducked under my covers and groaned.

"C'mon, get out of bed. It's almost 10," Aphromoo ordered as he pulled on my blanket.

"But it's Saturday!" I complained. I shielded my face with my arms to show my resistance.

I heard him sigh. "The sun's already up and you should be too!"

'_Yeah right_.' Saturdays warranted sleeping in.

"Besides, we're going for a family brunch!" he said cheerfully.

"Have fun," I rolled over to my side so my back faced him. I suddenly felt his weight on my bed. It didn't seem like he was going to leave anytime soon.

"And you're coming too. You're part of this family you know," Aphromoo said before he leaned backwards. His weight was crushing me.

"Dad! You're heavy!" I tried to shake him off, but he wouldn't budge. I could tell he was enjoying the moment.

"But now I'm getting all sleepy – can't move," he teased me, faking a yawn. He stretched his arms out and applied more pressure on me.

"Go sleep on your own bed!" My voice got higher as I tried to annoy him with my whining.

"But I'm already lying down here." Well, that didn't work.

"Alright, alright! I'll go to brunch, _just get off_!" I conceded. My father was a very persistent man and I didn't have the willpower to play this game. It was too early.

"Great! We're leaving in 10 minutes," he got off and walked towards the door.

"Yeah, yeah…" I pulled my blanket over me once more – glad that he was finally leaving. "WAIT TEN MINUTES?"

My father just laughed and closed my door.

* * *

><p>I don't know what I would have preferred more: LCS with Hurtle and Uncle Xpecial or brunch with my parents. Probably the former.<p>

"Is that Aphromoo and Doublelift?!" Yep. Definitely the former.

"You guys were my favorite bot lane!" I don't even know why I considered my current situation.

I guess it's time to do a little explaining on the current state of e-Sports. It has been about 20 years since my parents were in their prime. Yeah, they're _old_. They retired in their mid-20s, decided to settle down and have me. How you ask? That's a story for another time. Anyways, since then League of Legends has vastly grown.

Where we are now – Berlin, Germany – is considered the capital of e-Sports of the West… and I guess you can still consider it the capital of Germany, but that's not the point. The competition between the West and the East is still there, but there is a lot more diversity now. It isn't uncommon to find Americans in Korean teams or Chinese in European teams, etc.

Like I mentioned before, going professional is a pretty big thing nowadays. The system is more developed and refined. Receiving any kind of sponsorship is considered prestigious and there are even programs to help train the next professional gamer.

The first generation of professionals are still considered very popular. After all, they helped build the foundation of e-Sports today. That's also why I am in my current situation.

"Sometimes I wonder why I even bother going out in public with you guys," I muttered as my parents' fans left us alone – only after a selfie or two. I knew I should have stayed in bed.

I tugged on my hoodie so it covered more of my face. Even though my parents thought it was silly (and a little offensive), I refused to be seen with them. Not because I hated them, but because I valued my privacy. Not many people knew how I looked like. I was kind of like 'hi im Gosu' back in the day, but way less famous. I didn't stream, but people knew I existed and that was enough of a drive for my behavior.

Hurtle already had a bunch of people coming up to him at school asking to meet his parents. Heck, I have people asking me if they could meet his parents just because we're best friends.

"Its good practice for the future," Doublelift answered, "for when you decide to go professional and have to deal with fans. Besides, we can't help it if people identify us."

'_Here we go again_.'

"But I don't want to be a professional League player," I started, knowing what his response was going to be.

"You don't know that yet, you're still young," Doublelift and I said at the same time. I made air quotes as I said this. This earned me a glare from him as he put down his menu.

"Enough, we're here to enjoy brunch as a family," Aphromoo spoke up, his tone of voice meant that this was the end of the conversation.

"No more LCS talk," Aphromoo directed towards Doublelift. I mentally thanked him.

"And no more mocking your father," he gave me a pointed look. I smiled meekly and nodded. I guess I was being a little bit rude. '_Just a little._'

"Are you guys ready to order?" our waiter arrived with our waters. I glanced at him and rolled my eyes when I saw the huge grin on his face. I'm sure he was trying really hard to act professionally. I wonder if they would let me order a mimosa, I could use it right now.

"I'll have the double chocolate chip pancakes..."

* * *

><p>"You should've came with us! Oh and hi by the way," Hurtle excitedly said as he entered our call.<p>

"Hi to you too," I rose an eyebrow at my best friend's excitement. Hurtle has been to LCS plenty of times before, but I don't think I've ever heard him this excited about it. This only made me curious and a little anxious at the same time.

"Really? Did something good happen?" There was a long pause. I could tell he was trying to use it for a dramatic effect, but it only made me more anxious.

"You won't believe this," he finally said slowly. The suspense only made me groan, could he get to the point already?

"Try me," I said dryly, a bit impatient and still irritated from my morning.

"I GOT AN OFFER!"

'_Wait what?_' I just stared at the screen for a moment. Did he just say what I thought he said?

"Wait… like an offer to join a team?" I needed some clarification. This was happening way too fast for me to comprehend. "A challenger team?" I guessed.

"Kind of, well no. I got an offer for a LCK team," Hurtle tried to say calmly, but I know he was grinning like a maniac on the other side. He had WildTurtle's famous smile.

"What a funny team name," I joked. I knew it wasn't the actual team's name, but I couldn't wrap my mind around the idea of Hurtle joining a team that wasn't in Europe. I knew he was good, but I didn't know he was LCK good. I needed more time to think.

"Stella... this is serious." This was definitely serious. I couldn't remember the last time Hurtle called me by my actual name. At school it was always Aphy (Aphrodite was too long). It was an odd feeling.

"I kno–"

"You know I've dreamt about this moment since _forever_," Hurtle said slowly, cutting me off. I shut my mouth. Ever since we were kids, he would always talk about growing up to become a professional League of Legends player like our parents were.

"B-but we're still in school," I started, trying to think of a thousand excuses. We were in our last year of secondary school. Was he really going to pack up and leave?

Then I realized what I was doing and I felt horrible. Here I was trying to think of reasons for him to stay while he was trying to move closer to his dream. Is this how it feels to be left behind? Was I being left behind?

"I would finish my last year of school there. Dad said I could do homeschooling. Plus, he'd kill me if I dropped out." Of course he had already thought this through.

"I see." I didn't know what to say at this point. There was a brief moment of silence.

"Stella…"

"Jasper," I said his name to also show that I was being serious. "Did you already accept the offer?" it was more of a, 'Did you decide without telling me?'

I mentally slapped myself. I was acting like a clingy girlfriend, and I was NOT clingy, nor were we dating to begin with.

"Not yet, dad wouldn't let me. I have until after Worlds to decide," Hurtle confessed. So he really was going to just pack up and leave.

"Sounds like something Uncle Xpecial would do." I forced out a giggle – hoping that it would seem natural. Whether or not he caught it, he didn't make any indication of it.

There was more silence between us. This was weird.

"So how was brunch? I got your text," Hurtle changed the subject. I think we were both starting to feel uncomfortable with how this conversation was going.

"UGH. I wish I just accepted your offer to watch LCS. You wouldn't _believe_ just how many people came up to us today!" I started my rant.

Things were going to work out, somehow.

* * *

><p>1111/14


	4. Team

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

* * *

><p>If there was one thing that I regretted the most… it was getting comfortable. It sounds cliché, but it's true. I was content with how my life was and I wasn't ready for the impending change.<p>

I knew things would be different, but there was some part of me that hoped things would stay the same, so I ignored it. So when things actually started to change, it took me by utter surprise.

First of all, Hurtle decided that he was going to grind ranked games. He was aiming for the first spot in Challenger.

I don't blame him for it. I knew he was trying hard to be like his father, WildTurtle, the solo queue god. Back in the day, WildTurtle consistently claimed the number one spot.

Despite the grind, Hurtle didn't neglect me completely. However, the only times that he did play with me was when Adept and his friends invited us. Hurtle claimed that it was good practice for him to play in a full team. Personally I'm not sure how helpful it was because our team communication was split up. The trio did their own thing since they knew Hurtle and I could handle our lane. I guess there was some comfort in that. At least they trusted us to some extent.

Then there was the newfound friendship with the trio of Adept, Cyan and Hades. Besides Hurtle, I don't think I've consistently played with others before. I even started to play less Twisted Treeline because of our five-man queues. It felt nice to know other players. It meant that I didn't have to queue up by myself all the time.

Most of the time Adept and Cyan would be duoing together. This left me with Hades since Hurtle was off queuing by himself. Plus, he didn't seem to mind when I asked him if he wanted to play some normal games with me. I figured he would be trying to get to Challenger like everyone else, but he seemed content at Diamond I.

"Do you want to try playing some ranked games?" Hades asked me one day out of the blue.

We just lost a game. Hades was the only one who won his lane, but he wasn't able to carry the rest of us. I'll admit, I fed pretty hard this time around. It was kind of embarrassing.

"Uhm, we could try it," I answered. I only played ranked games to stop myself from decaying and that was only once every couple of weeks.

"We don't have to if you don't want to," he assured me.

"No it's fine, maybe I can get out of platinum one day," I joked.

He invited me and we queued up. I felt a little nervous about it.

"Just imagine us playing normal draft with randoms," Hades advised. I smiled. There was a distinct difference between him and Hurtle. If I was playing with Hurtle right now, he would just tell me to kick ass.

"I'll try that, thanks." I always felt more pressure when I played ranked games. It was an unpleasant feeling. I just couldn't understand how there were some people who only played ranked.

We entered champion select and I called for support while Hades offered to fill. He ended up being my AD carry.

"Any preference for your support?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Anything works, I trust your judgment." I rolled my eyes, that didn't help me. I decided to lock in Leona. She was my favorite champion to play. It felt really satisfying to go all-in and land all of my skills. I could play her in any role (at least in normals where people were less likely to rage at me).

"Hold on, I'm going to ward river," I informed Hades.

I placed a ward in front of dragon and a ward over the wall in front of their tri-bush.

"Alright," Hades responded.

If there was one thing I noticed about Hades, it was that he didn't talk much in game. He usually gave me short answers or little bits of information. There were even times where he would ping me instead of just telling me over our call. It was almost like he had a word limit for each game. But I'm sure it was just his way of concentrating on the game.

"Lee Sin is on his way," I said, watching the mini map from the corner of my eye.

The enemy Lee Sin placed a ward in the river bush from the other side and jumped to it. I waited a moment and didn't see him leaving. I assumed that he scanned it and saw that there wasn't a ward in the bush.

I pinged the bush and our jungler made his way down to counter-gank.

"_Any wards?_" our Rengar asked.

"_Just in the river_," I messaged back.

"Are we going to bait it?" I asked Hades.

"Yeah, our Gangplank still has his ult." With his confirmation I moved forward to proc my Targon's Brace on a melee minion. At that moment, Lee Sin shot his 'Sonic Wave' and dashed towards me with the second active.

I immediately used my 'Eclipse' to make myself tankier before he casted his 'Tempest/Cripple' combo to slow me down. Nami flashed forward to cast her 'Aqua Prison' on me, but I flashed backwards to dodge it.

During the small skirmish, Rengar activated his ultimate and was running towards us. Before the '!' appeared above their heads, Nami sent her 'Tidal Wave' at Hades. He quickly dodged it with his 'Valkyrie'. The enemy Lucian dashed forward, clumping himself with Nami. I used that opportunity to land my 'Solar Flare' on them. Then I ignited Lucian to reduce any healing.

Lee Sin used his 'Safe Guard' to dash over to Lucian, granting him a small shield.

Rengar pounced on the stunned Lucian and landed his 'Empowered Bola Strike' to keep him rooted longer. With Lucian still in place, Hades landed his 'Phosphorus Bomb' on them before chunking them with his 'Gatling Gun' and auto attacks. Nami tried her best to heal Lucian and exhausted Corki to reduce the damage.

I sent my 'Zenith Blade' through Lee Sin and stunned the Lucian that was next to him before Lee Sin could use his 'Dragon's Rage' to kick me into Rengar.

It was a nice kick, but Hades still managed to finish off Lucian by sniping him with a 'Missile Barrage' while Lucian flashed away. Rengar finished off the flash-less Nami, but Lee Sin managed to escape.

"Good job." I hit 'B' and my champion started her recall animation. The counter-gank went really well for us. I felt like I redeemed myself from the previous game.

"Nice bait," Hades pushed the wave before he also decided to recall. I just smiled.

We eventually won that game. The other team made a bad baron call and we managed to ace them in the pit.

"Getting closer!" I finally reached 88 LP. I could probably get into my promos if we won another game.

"Nice."

I was feeling more confident playing ranked. I waited for him to re-invite me, but that never came. I heard him typing on the other side.

"They want to join the call," Hades finally spoke up and added the other three.

"Hey everyone," I greeted once they joined, "What's up?"

This probably meant that we were going to play some games together. However, I secretly wanted to play another ranked game. I was pumped up from the last game. Hades was a pretty good AD carry.

"We're going to make a team!" Adept announced to us.

"What?" I was confused. Were we not already a team?

"Hurtle and I were talking," Adept started.

I rose an eyebrow, '_Since when did they talk outside of a game?_'

"And we decided that since already play together, we should just make a ranked team."

"Hey! I was part of this idea too," Cyan complained, feeling discredited.

"Does it matter who thought of the idea?" Hurtle interjected, "We all know what's more important: coming up with a team name."

Hades just stayed quiet. He was probably fine with the idea, but I didn't know how to respond.

"_It's just like playing draft with all five of us_," Hades messaged me.

He probably knew I was hesitating. I told him a while ago that I didn't want to play this game competitively.

"Sounds cool," I finally said.

"Told you she would agree!" Adept said triumphantly.

"Don't worry, we'll carry you guys," Hurtle declared as he was messaging me.

"_You sure?_" he asked me.

"_Yeah, it's okay. It's only for fun anyways._" He didn't respond after that.

"Oh please, we all know who'll be doing the _real _carrying," Cyan retorted.

"Yeah, our amazing support," Hurtle praised. I covered my face in embarrassment even though no one could see me. "And me of course – I thought we _just _went over this."

"As if! Adept and I are going to be the ones kicking ass!"

"Like how you messed up your kick on Caitlyn last night…"

"That was only once! She flashed before I could do it!"

"Guys, go get a room," Adept interrupted. He was trying to stop them, but I think that only fueled them more.

"Ew. I rather drop to Plat," Cyan said disgusted. I was a little offended by the comment but I didn't say anything. To be honest, I don't think Cyan really liked me. I'm not sure why since we barely knew each other. The only time I've ever interacted with her was when we were with everyone else. Maybe it's because she argues with Hurtle a lot?

"There's nothing wrong with being Platinum," Hades spoke up. I bit my lip, it seemed like everyone was standing up for me. First Hurtle and then Hades. I felt extremely grateful.

"I was just kidding Hades," Cyan defended herself. "Anyways about our team name," she changed the subject quickly.

"_You guys seem close_," Hurtle teased me. I'm sure he was quick to notice that Hades stood up for me. After all, Hurtle was always the one defending me ever since we were young.

"_Well, my best friend ditched me to grind LP,_" I joked, sounding hurt.

"_So now you're having an affair?!_" he mocked. I missed these conversations with him.

"_You're the one who cheated on me with Solo Queue!_"

"_The first spot was seducing me. I-I was weak!_"

"_Hmph. Excuses._" I had a huge grin on my face.

"_Forgive me!_" he pleaded. I could hear him typing loudly on the other side. Those mechanical keyboards were loud.

"_I'll buy you lunch tomorrow_," he offered.

"_You can't buy my forgiveness!_" I put my hand over my mouth as if to cover my shock, but he couldn't see me anyways.

"_And I'll throw in that cheesecake you like_."

That was a tempting offer. I pretended to think about it for a moment.

"_Deal._" I could have dragged on our conversation and teased him some more, but I didn't want to give up the cheesecake. It was one of my weaknesses and he knew that. Whenever I was having a bad day, Hurtle would buy me cheesecake – none of that carton of ice cream stuff.

"Let's do it!" Adept suddenly said. I completely forgot that we were still in chat with everyone.

"Let's do what?" I asked. I wasn't sure what was going on. All I knew was that they were deciding our team name.

"We're naming our team Taegukgi," Cyan answered.

"I was kidding guys…" Hades muttered, but it was too late. Adept sent us invites to the team.

"_What does that mean?_" I asked Hades. I figured that he was the one who came up with it.

"_It's the name of the South Korean flag… and a Korean BBQ place in the States… I didn't think they would actually use it_." I had a mental sweat drop.

"_Hungry?_" I teased.

"_Starved,_" he answered truthfully.

"Alright team! Time to get through our placements!" Adept said.

_And so it begins._

* * *

><p>1112/14_  
><em>


	5. Reunion

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

* * *

><p>"Do I really have to go?" I whined to my fathers.<p>

I clutched the card in my hands. My parents received an invitation to a 'Former North American League of Legends Pros' reunion (they definitely need a shorter title for it).

According to the invitation, a bunch of them now resided in Europe. I guess this really was where all the retired professionals went. I'm not sure why though – California has _much_ _nicer_ weather.

"Yeah, it'll be fun," Aphromoo answered.

I looked at him doubtfully, "Yeah, because a reunion for a bunch of _old_ people will be fun."

"Hey! We're still you—"

"Dad, don't even," I stopped him before he could even start his rant.

"Okay fine. But..." Aphromoo turned his head and gave me puppy dog eyes, "…you get to meet our friends! And their kids!" Aphromoo made dramatic hand motions to emphasize how important this was. I crossed my arms, still unwilling to go.

"And… Jasper will be there too." He had a triumphant look on his face. He knew I could be swayed to go just by the presence of my best friend.

"Going all-in, eh?" I rose my eyebrow, but he just gave me an innocent shrug. I pursed my lips and gave it a thought.

I let out a quick sigh before giving in.

"Well... I guess if he's going to be there…" I started, looking down at the invitation and away from Aphromoo's hopeful gaze, "then I don't mind going too."

"Great! I'll let them know," Aphromoo said happily. He took the invitation from my hands and pulled out his cell phone. I'm sure he wanted to confirm with them before I could change my mind. During the whole conversation Doublelift didn't say a word.

Doublelift and I haven't talked much since the brunch. Aphromoo did most of the conversing during family activities. For a while, Doublelift only gave me one word replies or grunts. So in return, I did the same. Eventually we both ended up ignoring each other completely. We're both terribly stubborn, but _he_ _started it_!

"Alright. I confirmed that the three of us will be attending," Aphromoo said as he hung up.

"When did Andy buy a house in Germany?" Doublelift asked his partner. He was looking over the invitation that Aphromoo handed to him and finally decided to speak up.

"Not sure, maybe he's planning on moving the team over to Europe," Aphromoo joked.

They were talking about the owner of Team Solo Mid: Andy "Reginald" Dinh. Thanks to his management, Team Solo Mid was still a top team today. In fact if I recall correctly, Aphromoo said something about TheOddOne's son being on the current roster.

"So Aphy, I think I still have some old CLG shirts you can wear to the reunion…"

"Yeah… no. You already used your trump card." I smirked at Aphromoo's crestfallen expression.

"You can't win every time, Dad," I said as I skipped away from the living room. At least I was able to retain some of my dignity. '_He was never good at Poker anyways_.'

I swung my backpack over my shoulder and opened the front door.

"I'm leaving now!" I shouted.

"Bye hun!" Aphromoo called out from the kitchen. I heard Doublelift grunt.

"Really Peter?" Aphromoo questioned before I closed the door. '_I'll just leave him to the wrath of Aphromoo,_' I thought as I locked the door.

I walked down the block, humming as I made my way to the park. This was the park where Hurtle and I spent most of our childhood playing. It was also where I met Hurtle every morning before school. We made it a habit of walking together.

"I heard you're going to the reunion." I looked up to see my best friend walking over to me.

"What – I only agreed to that like… fifteen minutes ago!"

"Dad got a call from your parents," Hurtle shrugged. "Apparently Aphromoo wanted to make sure I was going so you wouldn't get mad at him."

I face-palmed. "That father of mine…" I muttered, moving to Hurtle's side. Hurtle grinned as we left the park.

"How's Uncle Turtle?" I asked, making small talk, "Did he get over his cold?"

"Yeah, finally. I had to babysit him all of yesterday!" Hurtle complained. We didn't play ranked 5s yesterday because he was too busy.

I giggled, I could imagine WildTurtle demanding the reluctant Hurtle to take care of him. After the divorce, his parents decided it would be best for Hurtle to live with WildTurtle. Xpecial was moving to the city over and they thought it wouldn't be fair to make him transfer in the middle of the school year – something I was grateful for. School just wouldn't be the same without him.

"Oh yeah. I managed to get into Plat I yesterday," I said proudly. I was stuck in Plat II for the longest time. Well, not really stuck. I didn't like playing ranked games. The only reason I would play was to make sure I didn't decay.

"Did you duo with Hades?" Hurtle asked. There was a playful smile on his face.

"Yeah, he's a much better AD carry than you are," I teased.

"Hey!"

I decided not to tell him that Hades was actually playing top for all of our games.

* * *

><p>"I still have another shirt if you want." I looked at my bedroom door to see Aphromoo holding one of his old CLG shirts. It was almost identical to the one he was wearing.<p>

"And match with you? Ew. No thank you," I retorted. I wrapped my arms around me and pretended to shiver in disgust. My father just laughed and threw the shirt at my face.

"Hey! That was uncalled for," I complained, removing the shirt from my head. Aphromoo stuck his tongue out at me. "How mature, Dad," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Go get dressed, we're leaving soon," my father ordered before leaving the room. I shook my head at his retreating figure. I closed my door before peering into my closet. There was no way I was going to wear _this_ shirt.

After getting dressed, I met with my parents downstairs. Doublelift was also wearing a CLG shirt. '_Oh goodness, they're actually matching_.'

"For someone who didn't actually want to go, you're more dressed up than we are," Aphromoo said as soon as he saw me. Although he said that, he had a huge grin on his face. I was wearing a white strapless dress that went down to my knees. I had also decided to put on some eyeliner as well.

"Seemed like a special occasion," I shrugged as I put on my flats. I wanted to leave a good first impression. This was a reunion after all.

"Just admit it, you wanted to go," Aphromoo teased.

"Never."

* * *

><p>"Hey, long time no see," a guy greeted us by the front door. He gave both of my parents a hug before turning to me. "And who is this?" he asked.<p>

"Andy, this is our daughter Stella. Stella, meet Andy – the owner of TSM," Aphromoo introduced.

"Nice to meet you!" I said with a smile on my face. Even if I didn't want to be here, I knew I had to be polite. '_So this is the famous Reginald_' I noted.

"Likewise. Come on in," Reginald moved to the side so we could fit through the door.

"Aphy, go find Jasper. We're going to talk to Andy for a bit," Aphromoo said. I nodded and removed my shoes before going further in. It was only proper to do so in an Asian household.

I scanned the room for my best friend. I spotted Uncle Turtle conversing with others and walked over to him.

"Hey Stella," he greeted me with a hug when I reached him.

"Hey Uncle Turtle, do you know where Hurtle is?" I asked. He pointed to the living room couch and I thanked him. As I left, I could hear the people he was talking to laughing at him.

"She calls you Uncle Turtle?" one of them said.

Hurtle was talking to a guy and girl. They looked younger than us. I tapped his shoulder before sitting on the armrest next to him.

"Hey Aphy," he said, moving over so I could slide next to him on the couch. I bit my lip wondering if I should call him by his summoner name or his real name.

"Hey Jasper," I greeted in return before looking at his companions, "Hi, I'm Stella."

"Wait, but didn't he just call you Aphy?" the girl asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's just a nickname, don't ask," I lifted my shoulders and shrugged.

"Weird," the boy responded. "I'm Dustin, and this is my twin sister Abigail," he introduced.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled.

"They're Altec and Pobelter's kids," Hurtle informed me. My mouth formed a small 'o' as I stored this piece of information in my head.

"Who are your parents?" Abigail asked.

"Aphromoo and Doublelift."

"Oh! Rush Hour," Dustin said excitedly. "Do you play League?" he asked curiously.

I shrugged once more, "Occasionally," I answered. Hurtle snorted at my reply, but I ignored him. "How about you guys?"

"Dustin plays a lot more than I do. I prefer FPS games," Abigail replied.

"That's cool, I'm terrible at FPS games," I confessed. Hurtle just nodded his head in agreement. "Hey!" I smacked his arm.

"What! You're the one who said you were terrible," Hurtle complained, rubbing his arm.

"You didn't have to agree!" Our little argument just made the twins laugh.

"Are you two dating?" Abigail asked. I rose an eyebrow and looked at Hurtle.

"Ew. That's almost like incest," I said.

"Yeah, she's like the little sister I never wanted," Hurtle agreed.

"What – not even. I'm the older one!"

"Only by two months! You're short enough to be the little one," Hurtle argued.

"You two like to argue a lot," Dustin interjected. I couldn't deny that. Hurtle and I shared a lot of playful banter.

We all talked for a while about miscellaneous things. Then I noticed that Abigail was no longer in the conversation. She was busy staring at the other side of the room. Finally, the boys realized that we both weren't talking.

"What are you two looking at?" Hurtle asked.

"Not sure," I replied and Abigail looked back at us, a little embarrassed that we caught her.

"I-It's nothing!" she said, sitting up straight. Dustin just rolled his eyes when he identified who she was looking at.

"She's just looking at Dimitri," Dustin informed us, "She's been crushing on him since forever."

"T-That's not true!" Abigail flailed her arms, trying to deny it.

"Who's Dimitri?" Hurtle asked curiously.

"He's Dade and Hai's son," Dustin answered, ignoring his twin sister. He pointed at the tall Asian who was talking to some of the adults. As if he felt all of us staring, Dimitri turned his head and looked toward us. He waved and the twins waved back. He excused himself from his conversation and walked over to us.

"Hey Dustin, Abigail," he greeted as soon as he reached us. The twins greeted him and Abigail had a small blush on her face. She was cute.

Then he turned to Hurtle and me. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Dimitri," he said, reaching his hand out.

"I'm Jasper," Hurtle shook his hand.

"Stella," I greeted, shaking his hand as well. He had a strong grip.

"When did you get here, Dimitri?" Dustin asked as Dimitri took a seat next to Abigail. She had a huge smile on her face.

"Just a few minutes ago."

"I'll be right back," Hurtle stated, getting up he walked over to the dining room where more people had gathered. He was probably going to talk to some of the adults. I forgot that this was a good opportunity for him to network.

As the rest of us continued to talk, I couldn't help but notice that there was something familiar about Dimitri. I just couldn't put my finger on it. I also noticed that he was giving me quick glances every few minutes. It made me feel a little self-conscious.

Soon the twins were called to the kitchen by their parents. They told us that they would be back soon and left. Well, Abigail reluctantly left. Now it was just me and Dimitri.

"So do you play League?" I asked, trying to start a conversation. I could tell that we both felt a little awkward.

"Yeah," he responded. There was a moment of silence when neither of us spoke.

"Do you?" he asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Not often," I said. Now that the twins were gone, I realized that Dimitri was actually a quiet person. "I only play the game casually."

He smiled, "Not going to try to go pro like everyone else?" I laughed at that.

"Nah, only Hu – I mean Jasper is planning on going pro." I caught myself. It was strange having to use Hurtle's real name so much. I'm sure he wouldn't have minded if I just used his summoner name, but Dimitri didn't know what it was.

"How about you?" I asked, switching the topic from my best friend to him.

"I'm thinking about it. I have friends who are trying to go pro," Dimitri shrugged, "I'd consider joining a team with them."

"That's cool," I nodded my head. I don't think I ever considered the possibility of joining the same team as Hurtle. I'm not sure if that would change my mind about playing professionally.

"I'm only Plat I anyways," I confessed. Dimitri tilted his head before shaking it. "What?" I asked confused.

"Nothing, just had a déjà vu moment." I didn't ask him for what he meant.

"STELLA!" I turned my head to find the source. I saw Hurtle beckoning me over. I looked back at Dimitri and he was already standing.

"Don't worry about me," he said with a smile. I thanked him and walked over to Hurtle. He was standing with another Asian boy.

"Aphy, this is Lust," Hurtle introduced the boy to me. I gave him a funny look. '_What kind of parents name their son Lust?_' I wondered.

"That's his summoner name," Hurtle added as I shook his hand. '_Of course there isn't anyone who'd name their son that,_' I mentally smacked myself.

"I'm Ham Jang Ho," Lust said. He only looked half Korean.

"I'm Stella Black, nice to meet you. I'm assuming you're Lustboy's son?" He nodded in confirmation.

"Lustboy and Bjergsen are my parents." After he said that, I had a small epiphany.

"You're the one who met up with Hurtle a while ago!" I exclaimed. When I talked to Hurtle about his dinner with Xpecial, he mentioned something about his parents' former teammates.

"Yeah, he might be my future teammate," Hurtle spoke up.

Our conversation continued on, but I couldn't help but zone out. I stared in front of me and watched my best friend and his potential teammate talk.

His potential teammate.

I almost forgot that Hurtle might be leaving.

* * *

><p>1115/14


	6. Understanding

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

* * *

><p>My head was filled with the names and faces of the people I met at the reunion.<p>

I pulled out the notebook I kept for all League of Legends related things and started to write their names down. I had kept this notebook since I started playing League. It was filled with my notes and advice from Hurtle, Xpecial, and Aphromoo. I took advice from those three specifically because early on I had already decided that I was going to support Hurtle. After all, supporting him was the reason why I began playing the game in the first place – to help him get through his parents' divorce.

"Let's see…" I muttered while looking at my notebook. At the top of the page was the twins.

_Abigail and Dustin_ _Park, twins (15) – Altec and Pobelter's kids_

_Dimitri Bae (18) – Dade and Hai's kid_

_Ham Jang Ho (19) – Bjergsen and Lustboy's kid_

_Scarlett Nguyen (16) – KiWiKiD and imaqtpie's kid – divorced_

_Jason Santana (10) – imaqtpie and Lisha's kid_

These were the people who I managed to acquaint myself with. After meeting Jang Ho, I wasn't feeling very sociable for some very obvious reasons.

Scarlett was currently visiting imaqtpie during her fall break and seemed to get along with her half-brother just fine. She was kind of crazy, but also very interesting. During the reunion, she told us a bunch of stories about her travels with KiWiKiD. Apparently he didn't take the divorce that well and went for some soul searching, but Scarlett didn't mind because this meant she got to travel a lot.

I think the most important lesson I learned from her was that the Pho here is garbage. Therefore I must travel to Vietnam and be "mind-blowned".

Her half-brother, Jason was a particularly shy child. He blushed every time someone addressed him. It was kind of adorable – especially when he hid behind his sister, Scarlett. It was especially interesting to see how different they were.

Reginald and Leena's only child was still in Los Angeles, managing the team while her parents were away. It was kind of like a family business. Sneaky showed up alone because his wife and their three kids opted to go visit Paris instead.

HotShotGG and Lily couldn't make it because of a wedding that Lily helped coordinate. Dyrus and Midi were at a family reunion in Hawaii (though I'm not sure if they would have flown out to Germany for the reunion anyways because it was technically only for those who lived in Europe).

Meteos and Balls were on their second honeymoon because their only child just started college and they were finally able to get some alone time. Locodoco was in Korea coaching a team that was trying to qualify for Worlds – I couldn't remember the name, but I'm sure it was named after some phone company and some color.

I tapped the bottom of my lip as I tried to remember who else was mentioned at the reunion.

There were way too many names, so I immediately dismissed trying to remember all of them. It wasn't like I was going to see any of them again or meet any of the mentioned ones.

Oh yeah! There was also something interesting that happened at the reunion. I remember catching quick glances between Uncle Turtle and his former support, LemonNation when they thought no one was watching. I grinned.

Who knows, I may be adding another uncle to my list sometime in the future.

* * *

><p>"<em>Keep going!<em>" our Caitlyn typed as we ran out of our base, homeguards activated, to join Nocturne in his attempt to stop the enemy recalls. Hades had teleported top and was split pushing on Jax.

We just had a team fight at our mid inhibitor turret. The other team's mid laner and AD carry were dead along with our mid laner. There was 50 seconds on their death timers.

Our Nocturne chased after their Amumu down the middle lane. I released the spooky ghosts and caught Maokai heading into our blue side jungle. The second ghost returned to me.

Luckily I was Janna, so chasing them down wasn't a problem. Caitlyn ran to help Nocturne. Amumu had turned on him and they were now fighting.

"_Go back!_" our Talon typed. He pinged Hades. We had no sight of the other champions.

"_No keep going!_" Caitlyn typed. Amumu managed to escape by throwing his 'Bandage Toss' to his wraiths. Hades kept going and ignored the warning pings from Talon.

"Maokai is teleporting," Hades informed me as I rushed to find him. Hades was attacking their first nexus turret when the teleport started. I headed towards the direction where I last had vision on Maokai. I placed a ward in our blue bush and found him teleporting. I quickly pressed on 'Howling Gale' and released the whirlwind to stop his teleport.

"Good job," Hades said once the teleport stopped. He was on the second nexus turret. Our team finally killed Amumu and were on their way into the enemy's base.

The enemy Braum managed to recall and was desperately trying to stop Hades by slowing him. However, Hades completely ignored him and was running around the nexus.

I was too distracted by the _thumping_ noise and from watching Hades that I didn't notice that the enemy Maokai killed me in retribution. '_Whoops_.' It was worth it though.

As the last sliver of health depleted, a series of "_GG_" appeared in chat. I watched the nexus blow up before **Victory** appeared on my screen.

"Good job Hades!" I grinned as I clicked on the **Continue** button. I impatiently waited for the animation to start.

**Congratulations Summoner!**

**You have been promoted to Lulu's Spellslingers, Diamond Division V.**

**Best of luck in the Fields of Justice!**

"DIAMOND!" I shouted aloud, jumping out of my seat.

I immediately sat back down quickly, almost missing my chair. I was embarrassed by my own reaction even though no one could see me. During my excitement, my headset fell off. I picked it up and managed to put it back on in time to hear Hades talk.

"Congrats," my duo partner said.

"Thanks for carrying," I smiled.

I took a screenshot of my promotion because that's what everyone did when they moved onto a new tier. It was a satisfying accomplishment. I was _finally_ in diamond.

Yesterday, I tried to win the first game of my promotions by myself, but ended up losing a really bad game. It almost felt like no one on my team knew how to play. Okay, not almost. That's exactly how it felt.

Then Hades signed on and joined me for my next promotion game – we won. After that, he told me to wait for him before I tried to finish my promotions. He said my MMR was too high from duoing with him all the time. I almost forgot he was Diamond I.

"_Who's elo boosting my best friend?_" Hurtle messaged me.

"_My new best friend_," I typed back.

"_Whoa whoa, slow down there. Let's not get too hasty with these decisions,_" Hurtle responded and I giggled.

"Something funny?" Hades asked, probably wondering why I was suddenly giggling.

"Just teasing Hurtle."

"Oh, he's on. What spot is he at now?"

"Second, he's almost there."

I hovered over Hurtle's name and saw that he had been in queue for the last 15 minutes. '_Geez, being in Challenger sucks_.'

"_Aphy? APHY? NOOOOO_," Hurtle typed when I didn't respond. He could be so dramatic.

"_Don't worry, you're the only bestie for me :p,_" I reassured him.

"_Gross. That was super cheesy._" I rolled my eyes at his response.

"_Gouda cheese?_"

"_Cheese pizza with cheese sauce, cheesy crust and extra cheese on top_." My face scrunched up in disgust. That was a lot of cheese.

"_That's disgusting_." No more cheese.

* * *

><p>"You look really happy," Aphromoo commented as I entered the kitchen. I immediately went about my task of setting up the table.<p>

"That's because I am happy," I answered, knowing that my vague answer would only pique my father's curiosity even more. Before he could ask me why, I strode out of the kitchen with the plates and cups. I walked back in to retrieve the utensils, but once again evaded my father who had then turned his attention to the stove.

Doublelift was sitting in the living room with his eyes fixated on the TV.

"Dinner is ready," Aphromoo called out from the kitchen. I helped him carry the dishes to the table before taking my seat. Doublelift finally arrived, leaving the TV on. Aphromoo proceeded to turn it off before taking his seat. He was strict with his rule of no TV during dinner. He said that dinner time was family time – more like awkward family time because Doublelift and I still weren't talking to each other.

"Thanks for the meal, Dad!" I said before helping myself to the asparagus.

"So as I was saying, why are you so happy?" Aphromoo asked now that we were gathered. He was trying to corner me.

"Is there something wrong with me being happy?" I asked my dad, continuing this game of cat and mouse.

"Wha- of course not! I'm just curious," Aphromoo retorted. I just shrugged and he frowned.

"It's not a boy is it?" I stepped on a trap. I'm sure I said no more cheese.

"DAD!" I groaned. I was not having this conversation.

"It is isn't it? Have I met him?" Aphromoo went on and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"I just got into diamond." I decided to stop him before things got out of hand. I already lost anyways.

"That's my baby!" Aphromoo said excitedly. I glanced over at Doublelift who said nothing. I just imagined him as the high expectations Asian father. "Isn't that great?" Aphromoo directed to Doublelift.

"Yeah, congrats." Doublelift finally said.

"Thanks."

* * *

><p>After dinner, I went back to my room. I had planned on studying until Hurtle messaged me to get onto League. If it had been anyone else, I probably would have declined.<p>

It wasn't long until I heard a knock on my door followed by an "Aphy?"

"Hold on guys, muting," I said as I clicked on the small microphone button.

"_Your parents call you Aphy?_" I heard Adept say before I took off my headset.

I was talking to the boys while we waited for Cyan to finish dinner and join us. We were going to play some ranked 5s and hopefully climb the ladder. Our ranked team, Taegukgi, was currently at Diamond IV. Yeah… our ranked team got to diamond before I did. A few days ago Hurtle freaked out when he saw that I was in diamond, but then realized it was actually our team.

"Aphy? Can I come in?" I blinked as I recognized that voice. I turned my chair and stared at my door. It was Doublelift's voice. Confused, I left my seat and opened my door.

"Hey dad, what's up?" I asked him curiously. It was very unlike him to see me after dinner.

"Can we talk?" He looked a little nervous.

"Yeah sure, just give me a moment," I said before walking back to the computer.

"_I'll be right back, need to talk to my dad,"_ I typed in the lobby chat. Before I left my computer once more, Hurtle quickly messaged me privately.

"_Which one?_" he asked.

"_Dlift_."

"_Good luck._" I was going to need it. I had no clue what to expect.

I walked back to my dad who was seated on my bed. He had closed the door.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked, taking a seat next to him. He didn't say anything for a few seconds as if he was contemplating his words.

"I'm sorry," was the first thing he blurted out.

Okay, someone pinch me.

'_What's going on?_' I wondered. Doublelift was apologizing to me – what?

"What for?" I asked. I genuinely didn't know what he was apologizing for. I knew of many things he could apologize for, but I didn't know the exact reason why he was here.

"For not being the father that you needed," he answered. Okay, I definitely wasn't expecting that one. It seemed like he had thought about this for a while. I could already tell that this was going to be a long conversation.

"Good thing I have two fathers," I joked, not knowing what to say to that. I could see the frown forming on his face and I immediately regret trying to make light of this matter. I pretty much confirmed that he wasn't a good father.

'_Timing Stella, timing._' I told myself.

"You still don't forgive me for what happened in Korea," it was more of a statement than a question. I bit my lip and looked away. He should have already known what my answer was.

"Don't worry, I understand," Doublelift continued. I looked at him, a little surprised. Aphromoo forgave him months after the incident happened but I never did.

"I want to let you know that I regret it," he said, his eyes casted down. "I was stupid, and Zaqueri should have just left me for it." He was talking about Aphromoo. If I was my dad, I probably would have left.

"He didn't deserve it, nor did you," he muttered, looking at me once more.

"He forgave me though…" he held his gaze, "but you never looked at me the same way."

I couldn't deny it. After all, he was the reason why I never wanted to get involved with League of Legends and the professional scene. I didn't want to be famous. I didn't want to find some thread on reddit talking about my personal life or my private _affairs_. Yes, that's how I found out about it. Talk about embarrassing. Reddit detectives are the real deal.

It was worse when Aphromoo had to confront him about it. It could have easily been one of those, "Don't believe everything you see on the internet," kind of explanations, but Doublelift confessed with a guilty heart. Aphromoo wasn't happy with him. I never saw my parents fight so much. Doublelift had tried to justify it, but Aphromoo wasn't going to have any of that.

I woke up every day for two months to find Doublelift sprawled out on the couch. He wasn't allowed upstairs until Aphromoo forgave him.

Then there was school. I received a bunch of pity looks or taunts from some of my classmates. Like I've mentioned before, League is a big thing. So anyone who followed the scene pretty much knew. It got to the point where I didn't want to go to school anymore. I started skipping classes and got in trouble with my teachers.

Then Aphromoo thought it was time to move. He thought we all needed a fresh start.

We moved closer to Hurtle's place since our parents were good friends. We saw each other a lot as children. I transferred out of my private school into Hurtle's public school and he vowed to make sure that no one knew who my parents were. He was like my bodyguard. Eventually the reddit thread was taken down and it became a story of the past. We were still careful though.

"How could I?" I asked him. A bunch of feelings were starting to arise once more. I thought I had buried them deep within me, but I felt my armor cracking. I've kept these emotions in me for almost five years. I was only twelve when it happened.

"H-how?" I asked again, my voice croaked and I tried to clear it.

He didn't answer me. It was quiet for a few minutes. Both of us were trying to think.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me now," Doublelift broke the silence, "But I want to let you know that I'll try harder from now on," he declared.

"I don't want to force you to do something you're not ready for." I'm not sure if he was talking about forgiving him or becoming a pro.

"I realized that I was trying too hard to make sure you had a future laid out." I shifted my position so I was directly facing him. I guess I never considered him caring about my future. Any good traits of a parent I attributed to Aphromoo, and everything else to Doublelift.

I crossed my legs and sat there patiently, waiting for him to continue. I knew that after this, I would also have to apologize. I never bothered to ask him how he felt. All I cared was how I felt about the whole ordeal.

"When I was about your age – no a little older. I finished high school while working part time jobs and contributing to my family." This was all new to me. I don't think I've ever heard my father talk about his younger self. At least not when he was my age. The only stories I heard were the ones where he was on CLG with Aphromoo.

"My parents and I didn't get along. They hated the idea that I wanted to pursue gaming as a career. That's just not what you did back then. In an Asian household, I was expected to go to college and become a doctor or something. But that's not what I wanted, so I left the house when I was 18." I tried to imagine leaving home at 18. I never had a job before – any money I got was from allowance or gifts. I'm sure I wouldn't be able to live off of that.

"I resorted to couch surfing. You remember Uncle Travis – I stayed with him for about a year. He always believed in me," Doublelift smiled at his fond memory. A small smile also formed on my face. I remembered Travis, he was currently in the States, but he would visit whenever there was a tournament. I knew that he was really close to my father.

"But the whole point of me telling you this isn't so you feel bad for me, but to let you know that I want to be supportive of your dreams. I don't want to force you to do what we did just because I know the scene. I also don't want force you into the position where you feel like you need to leave home and we don't talk for two years because we couldn't compromise," my dad held my hand for the first time in years.

"And I don't want Zaqueri nagging me every night for being stupid again," he joked.

I burst out laughing, "Stupid," I muttered under my breath. I squeezed his hand to show him that it was okay.

"Thanks for telling me this dad," I said, scooching over and giving him a hug. He must've been shocked because it took him a moment before he returned it.

"I'm sorry too," I said, moving back to my original spot on the bed.

"For what?" Now it was his turn to ask.

"For not bothering to ask you for your side of the story," I said with a weak smile. I felt a little ashamed of myself.

"That's okay, I'm the one who screwed up."

"Yes you did…" I glared at him, but my facial expression softened, "but I didn't make the situation any better," I argued. I lost years with my father because I blindly despised him. I had ingrained in my head that he was a terrible person and that Aphromoo deserved better. Now I realized why Aphromoo forgave him, and just maybe I would be able to too. One day.

"You're right, you didn't," my father said with a smirk on his face.

"Please, maybe if you were less of a drama queen…"

"Hey! I resent that. I'm at least a king," my father refuted.

"Nah, you were definitely like a little girl," I teased my father.

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes and pouted.

"Or a puppy."

"WHAT!"

"Just kidding dad."

"Go play your games, I'm sure your team is growing impatient," my father said, nodding his head towards my computer.

"Wait, how did you know I have a team," I asked him as I got off my bed. I walked over to my computer where there was a long chat awaiting me.

"Because I'm your father," he said opening my door.

"Stalker father," I muttered under my breath, loud enough for him to hear me, but there was a grin on my face that he couldn't see.

"Hey! What's with all these labels!" he complained.

"Nothing. Don't you have to report to Aphromoo?" I asked him, turning around so I faced him. "Or was he just listening at the door the whole time?"

My other father popped his head through my door, "Hey honey," he said innocently.

I rolled my eyes, "Hey dad."

"I was just passing by!" he tried to defend himself, holding his hands up in the air.

"Right. I'm going to go play a game right now," I told my parents and sat down.

"Good luck. We should play together some time," Doublelift offered. That'd be cool.

"I bet you're trash now," I retorted, putting my headset on.

"Hey! So much sass." I just giggled.

"Sorry guys, I'm back." I unmuted my mic and heard my door close.

* * *

><p>1118/14


	7. Semifinals

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

* * *

><p>"So…"<p>

Hurtle and I were sitting by the windows of my favorite café, Café Perle. He introduced me to the café after my family moved and I've been hooked ever since. We used to go a lot more frequently when we were younger, but now most of our afternoons are spent studying or playing League of Legends. I hate to admit it, but nowadays I've been playing the game a lot more.

"So what?" I asked, dabbing my mouth with a napkin. Hurtle invited me to the café for an after-school snack. I couldn't refuse when he tempted me with the offer of cheesecake. Crème brûlée cheesecake to be exact.

"Turtle is taking me to LCS this week," he stated before eating more of his tiramisu.

"That's cool," I responded. I was more interested in the cheesecake in front of me and the hot chocolate on my right. I forgot why we stopped coming here so often. Everything was _so_ good! I took another bite of my cheesecake and a smile formed on my face.

'_Mmm_, _I'm so glad Hurtle invited me_,' I thought. This is definitely what I needed after a boring lecture of Chemistry.

"Aphy? Earth to Aphy," Hurtle said poking my forehead. I jolted back and glared at him.

"What was that for?" I asked, rubbing my forehead.

"You totally zoned out," he informed me and I felt my cheeks become a little warm in embarrassment.

"Oh sorry, what were you saying?" I asked him.

"I said that Turtle is taking me to LCS this week…" he repeated.

"I heard that," I interrupted him. He flicked his hand to signal that there was more.

"And asked if you'd like to come with us," he finished and I put down my fork.

"Is that okay with Uncle Turtle?" I asked, not wanting to interrupt their father-son bonding time.

"Yeah, he told me to ask you," Hurtle shrugged, "I told him you wouldn't be interested, but he insisted on it anyways. He also told me to ask your parents if they wanted to come, but I figured they'd be working."

'_Hmmm_…' I took a sip of my hot chocolate as I thought about it. The last time he asked me, I readily refused. But lately… just lately, I've been a bit more interested. My interest started to grow thanks to my ranked games with Hades, our ranked team, and my heart-to-heart talk with Doublelift.

"Yeah sure, why not?" I said and Hurtle gave me a funny look that broke up into a smile.

"What do you mean why not?" he teased me and I looked away from him in defiance.

"Forget about it," I said. I should have known he'd take this opportunity to make fun of me. '_I told you so, inc._' I thought distastefully.

"If I recall last time, someone had no interest in the LCS," he said, leaning forward. He placed both elbows on the table and rested his chin on his intertwined hands.

"Elbows off." I swatted at his arms, trying to change the topic. "I'm appalled by your lack of manners!" I said to him mockingly. I straightened up my back and gave him a stern look.

He just rolled his eyes and removed his elbows from the table.

"Yes mother," he muttered sulkily. I smiled at his silliness. "But stop changing the subject!" he accused.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said innocently, trying my best to look clueless.

"Someone had no interest in the LCS," he repeated, trying to continue the conversation.

"You're as stubborn as my parents," I muttered and he stuck his tongue out at me.

"And you're terrible at avoiding the topic," he grinned, "not subtle enough!"

"I can be subtle!" I argued in defense. In fact…

"No. You're not going to change the subject with this," he caught me and I crossed my arms.

"I was close…" I pouted.

"Not even," he said, giving me the famous WildTurtle smile.

"What's wrong with me being interested in the LCS?" I asked, using a familiar argument.

"What's wrong with me asking?" he combatted. I didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"I asked first!" I whined, unable to think of a good comeback.

"Technically, I did first," Hurtle pointed out. I frowned, he was right. "Though… if you don't feel comfortable telling your best friend why you're interested in the LCS," he shrugged his shoulders, "then you don't have to answer." He tried his best to look hurt as he said that.

'_Way to guilt me_,' I thought and sighed.

"You're having fun with this, aren't you?" I accused him.

"Yep," he smirked, eating more tiramisu.

"Well… I guess ever since I had that talk with Doublelift, before our ranked 5's…" my gaze turned towards the people passing outside. I tried to think of my answer.

"I haven't told you what Doublelift and I talked about, right?" I asked, switching my gaze back to him. He just shook his head. It was only a few nights ago since I had that talk with my father. Our relationship was starting to get better. We now talked during meals, trying to catch up.

Normally, I would have told Hurtle everything, but we were too busy playing our games. They had waited quite a bit, even Cyan was in the lobby waiting. Adept assured me that it was okay, but Cyan seemed annoyed to have waited. Hades said it was important to talk to my parents. It might have just been me, but it seemed like Adept was acting strangely after Hades said that. I shrugged it off though, because there were more important things to think about. Like what duo lane Hurtle and I were going to play.

"Well, he apologized," I said casually, trying to remember what exactly happened that night. I didn't notice that Hurtle had stopped eating his tiramisu and was now staring at me in surprise.

"What?" I blinked.

"Sorry, I think I misheard you," Hurtle said.

"Oh, I said Doublelift apologized," I repeated once more.

"…" Hurtle scrunched up his face for a moment before relaxing it. "Yeah, I think I misheard you again," he stated.

"I–said–Doublelift–apologized," I emphasized each word.

"Doublelift apologized," he repeated slowly and I nodded. "Doublelift apologized…"

"_Jasper_," I said his actual name in annoyance, "How many times do I have to tell you that he apologized before you get it?"

"Over 9000," he joked. '_Dammit Hurtle_,' my annoyance evaporated.

"Stupid…" I muttered under my breath. He gave me a mortified look.

"What! Don't tell me you weren't surprised," he challenged. He wasn't wrong.

"Yeah I know, I was shocked too," I admitted.

"Exactly!" he looked triumphant. "So what happened after he did the A-word?"

I gave him a 'Are you serious?' look. "Really Hurtle?" I switched back to his summoner name. "The A-word?" I asked him.

"Oh shush. Doublelift and the A-word don't belong in the same sentence," he defended. That's probably true. I don't remember any other time Doublelift has apologized to me. I do remember him apologizing to Aphromoo after the affair, but nothing in between now and then.

"Anyways, back to my story," I gave him a look that told him not to interrupt me.

"After he did the 'A-word'," I made air quotes with both of my hands, "He told me he was going to try harder."

"Try harder?" Hurtle repeated skeptically. I nodded. I think all my years of despising my father made it hard for Hurtle to see him in a new light.

"He wants to be supportive," I smiled as I told him about the things my father wanted to do. I continued to describe the conversation before telling him why I was okay with going to the LCS. Hurtle was being very patient with me as I described everything in detail. I even told him about the hug I gave my father near the end of our conversation and his offer to play with me – which Hurtle laughed at.

"Therefore I think that it'll help me better understand my father – if I went to the LCS I mean." He did spend most of his youth playing in the NA LCS. League of Legends was a big part of his life, and I also was ready to be part of it.

"But I don't think my parents can go with work and all," I added.

"I'm happy for you," Hurtle said, giving me a reassuring smile. We both had our own problems with our parents.

"Anyways, enough about this. I'm neglecting my cheesecake!" I gasped in horror as I looked at my half-eaten slice. Hurtle laughed before getting up to order us some more hot chocolate.

* * *

><p>"Are you two excited?!" Uncle Turtle asked us once we arrived at the studio. Hurtle shrugged in response, he has been to the LCS many times before today that even the staff members knew who he was.<p>

"Yeah, it's been a long time," I said as I looked around. Thanks to Uncle Turtle we got special wristbands that allowed us backstage access. However we decided to wait in line with the others to get the full experience.

I looked at the CLG shirt that I was wearing and grimaced. This was kind of embarrassing. I thought back to the conversation I had with Aphromoo _and_ Doublelift before school.

"_You're going to wear a CLG shirt today right?" Aphromoo asked, handing me a glass of orange juice._

"_No," I said bluntly and he moved the glass away from my reach._

"_Why not?!" he complained._

"_It's embarrassing," I said, extending my reach and snatched the cup out of his hands._

"_There's nothing embarrassing about it!" Doublelift piped in, putting down his newspaper._

"_If I say yes now, next time you guys are going to tell me to wear your old jersey," I accused. I regretted it immediately when I saw Aphromoo's face lit up._

"_That's a good idea!" he said, quickly leaving the kitchen._

"…" _my face paled as I waited for him to return._

"_This is your fault, you know," Doublelift pointed out. I took a seat at the kitchen counter and groaned before burying my head in my arms._

"_I think I got my big mouth from you," I said, looking up._

"_Wha—, " Doublelift began was he was cut off by Aphromoo returning. I was mortified by what I saw. In each of his hands was a jersey._

"_I found them!" he said proudly, showing them off. "You should wear mine though," he said, raising his old jersey higher._

"_What! She should definitely wear mine," Doublelift said._

"_No way, she's a support, I was a support, therefore she should wear mine," Aphromoo argued._

"_I'm leaving," I said, leaving my chair._

"_We're not done!" Aphromoo stopped me._

"_Yeah, tell him that you're going to wear my jersey," Doublelift quipped. Aphromoo turned and glared at him._

"_No, she's going to wear MINE."_

_I rubbed my temples. This was becoming a headache._

"_I'll wear a CLG shirt with none of your names, happy?" I stated and they both turned to smile at me. They both had this glint in their eyes. Wait—_

"… _You guys planned this, didn't you?" I accused them. They both looked at me innocently, but Aphromoo broke his façade first and his face erupted into a smile first. Like I said… bad at poker._

"_I should've known when you found your jerseys way too fast," I grumbled, covering my face with my hands._

"_I'll leave the shirt on your bed," Aphromoo grinned, leaving with both of the jerseys._

"_Ugh, I'm leaving," I said walking out._

"_Don't forget to take pictures!" Doublelift shouted from the kitchen._

And that's how it happened. I found the shirt on my bed with a note from Aphromoo. He basically quoted what I said this morning to guilt me into wearing the shirt.

"WildTurtle?" someone behind us asked. Hurtle and his father turned around to see a person holding a marker and piece of paper. "I-it's really you!" he said excitedly. WildTurtle smiled at the boy and offered to sign his paper. The boy asked Hurtle to take the picture – which he reluctantly did before handing the boy back his camera. "Thanks a lot!"

This didn't go unnoticed by the others around us. I could hear people talking about WildTurtle. I guess it didn't help that he had a TSM shirt on. Hurtle refused to wear one. He was waiting for the day when he would have a shirt from his own team.

"Now I remember why I don't like coming here," I whispered to Hurtle who laughed. He swung his arm around my shoulders and made me face the front of the line.

"You'll get used to it," he teasingly assured. I pouted and shrugged his arm off. This only made him laugh more.

* * *

><p><strong>QUADRAKILL<strong>_**.**_

The crowd groaned when the pentakill was denied by the support. I looked at the expressions of the players and saw some of them laughing. It was about 32 minutes into the second game of the day. The previous game had a bruiser bot lane that I want to try out the next time we played R5s. I'm sure Hurtle would be down to do it – not so much our other teammates. I'm sure we could convince them. We were currently in Diamond II.

I looked next to me. Hurtle's eyes were glued to the screen. Eventually the blue side team won, which made the score 1-1. We were watching semi-finals. The winner of today's games was guaranteed a spot at Worlds while the loser had to play another best-of-5 for a chance at going to Worlds.

Today's matches were between 'History Written' and 'Modest Vixens'. The latter team name made me cringe. It wasn't uncommon for females to be on teams, but it was odd to have an all-female team.

'_They could have at least chosen a better name…_' I thought.

"That was good," Hurtle said, rising from his seat. "Let's go look at the merch," he grinned, offering me a hand. I accepted it and he pulled me up. "Dad said he's treating."

There was a rush of people heading to the concession stands. The players were in the back discussing what they were going to do for the third match. WildTurtle was talking to a few of the staff members.

"What did you think?" Hurtle asked me as we headed to the merchandise station.

"Modest Vixens? Couldn't they have chosen a better name?" I asked him and he laughed.

"I meant what you thought about the matches," Hurtle clarified.

"Oh, that bruiser bot was very interesting," I told him, "We should try it sometime."

"Down," Hurtle grinned. He was always ready to break the meta. "It's actually pretty fun, I've done it in a few ranked games before."

"You would have."

"Then we should try double-tank bot…"

"No." I shook my head, but my rejection didn't wipe the smile off of his face.

"Whoops!" I accidentally bumped shoulders with a person heading the opposite direction. "Sorry!" I apologized.

"Don't worry about it – wait Stella?"

"Huh?" I turned to see Dimitri standing there.

"Dimitri!" I exclaimed, giving him a smile.

"Let's move to the side," Hurtle said, putting his arm around my shoulders and guiding me and Dimitri to the wall. "How are you?" Hurtle asked as soon as we got out of everyone's way.

"Good. I'm surprised to see you two here," Dimitri answered, "Especially you, Stella," he noted. The last time we talked, I told him that I only liked the game casually. So much had changed since then.

"Hurtle invited me," I chirped. It took me a moment to realize my mistake. "I mean Jasper invited me!" I corrected myself.

Dimitri opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted.

"Dimitri, come on!" a female voice said. We all looked at the source and saw a girl beckoning him over. She was a petite girl who dressed kind of boyish. It worked well with her brown bob cut. She had olive skin and bright blue eyes. She reminded me of a pixie. I noticed that she had her arm looped with another boy. He was tall, around the same height as Hurtle who was 5'10" – maybe a little taller. I couldn't really tell because he was slouching. He had black hair like Dimitri. I could tell right away that Dimitri was Asian, but this person looked mixed. He had pretty greyish brown eyes though. Before I could continue my speculation, Dimitri spoke up.

"Sorry guys, I'm here with some friends, I'll talk to you guys later?" he said.

"Yeah," I smiled, "It was nice seeing you. Maybe we'll catch up after the games," I said and he nodded.

"That'd be nice," and then he left to catch up with his friends. I looked at Hurtle who was staring at the direction that Dimitri left.

"What?" I asked him. He looked like was in deep thought.

"I thought of something stupid," he answered, looking at me.

"That's not a first," I retorted.

"Ow! I'm offended!" Hurtle placed his hands over his heart and looked at me with a shocked expression.

"Time to go shopping!" I ignored him and dragged him to the merchandise.

I wanted a Poro.

* * *

><p>1119/14


	8. Hades

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

* * *

><p>"It's so fluffy!" I squealed as I rubbed my face against my new Poro. The line for merchandise was long, but it was definitely worth the wait.<p>

"Aphy, people are staring," Hurtle said as we made our way back to our seats.

"Don't exaggerate, they're probably just wondering how you could afford all of this merch," I said, rolling my eyes.

We bought a lot of stuff – most of which Hurtle was carrying now. Uncle Turtle was going to regret giving us his credit card. We both got two posters each and a champion hat to wear. I had my Poro and Hurtle opted for the Fishbones pillow. Hurtle was wearing his Veigar hat while I had my Lulu hat on. I was a little disappointed when they didn't have the Winter Wonderland Lulu hat. It would have went well with my new Poro.

I sat down on my chair and plopped my Poro on my lap facing the stage. I wanted to make sure he could watch as well. "What should I name him?" I wondered aloud.

"Him? How do you know it's a _guy_ Poro?" Hurtle questioned me.

"Because I said he's a guy Poro," I answered, idly playing with my Poro's horns.

"I don't think your parents are going to like that," Hurtle said playfully. I looked at him confused, but he just had a big grin on his face.

"What, why not?" I asked him before looking at my Poro once more. "Don't worry Hunter – don't listen to him. My parents will love you!" I said to my Poro.

"Hunter?" Hurtle quirked an eyebrow.

"Yep! Hunter – that's his new name," I announced.

"Oh man, this is going to be great," Hurtle grinned. I could tell that he was plotting something.

"What do you mean?" I wanted in on this.

"Imagine the look on your parents face when they find out you've been cuddling with Hunter," he smirked.

"What's wrong with cuddling with my Poro?!" I asked indignantly.

"Nothing, but they won't know that Hunter is your Poro." His grin grew even bigger. Okay, I wanted out.

"No. NO. We're not going to do that. Absolutely not. Do you hear me Jasper?" I used his name to show him how serious I was. Sure it would be funny for a moment, but then I was going to have to deal with my parents afterward – or at least until they realize it was just a joke. I cringed at the thought of my parents freaking out over Hunter.

"Oh c'mon Stellz, it'll be fun!" Hurtle whined.

"Hurtle, the last time you said that we gave two kills to the enemy Tristana, remember?" I gave him a doubtful look.

"Wow… that was a long time ago," Hurtle said. He squinted his eyes as if he was trying to look into the past and remember that game. "Gee, was that really the first thing you thought of?" Hurtle questioned me suspiciously.

"W-what. What's wrong with that?" I asked, hugging my Poro.

He had a small smile on his face that just grew larger with each passing second. I didn't like the look on his face.

"That's also the game where we met _Hades_, right?" Hurtle asked. I blinked. Was Hades in that game? I tried to think back.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said. I probably should have worded it better because the grin stayed apparent on his face. It probably seemed like I was hiding something.

I knew Adept was in the game since he added me right after. Cyan was in the game because I remember her banning out Katarina the next time we joined a game together. I guess it was only natural that Hades was in that game too.

"Yeah I remember, he was playing top lane like he always does. That was our first game with him."

"Okay, what's your point?" I asked. I knew what he was suggesting, but I could be overthinking it. "You know I turn off summoner names anyways, so it's not like I knew he was in the game," I pointed out. Maybe that would stop his teasing.

"It's interesting how you both have names from Greek mythology," Hurtle continued. He was beating around the bush.

"Yeah, what a coincidence, but I still don't know what you're getting at," I told him, feeling a little annoyed.

"I don't know…" Oh but he _did_ know, otherwise he wouldn't be playing these mind games with me.

"Jasper…" I said in a warning tone.

"And you guys duo together a lot." Hurtle was now just saying a bunch of random facts.

"Well, my _best friend_," I glared at him as I emphasized those words, "left me in platinum all by myself. _Then _he decided that he wanted to spam ranked games to reach the first spot in challenger so I couldn't play with him anymore."

"Hey! That's not my fault you didn't want to rank up with me," Hurtle defended.

"Yeah I know, I just wanted to throw that out of there," I shrugged. I wasn't mad at him for it. I hated playing ranked games because they were much more stressful, but Hades helped change my view of them. "Besides, I don't always duo with Hades! I've played a couple of games with Adept," I informed him.

"Really? I thought he always played with Cyan," Hurtle said, a bit surprised.

"Only a couple. He's a better Katarina than you are." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"It was only one normal game!"

The teams were back on stage and the castors were talking. They entered champion select and proceeded with the bans.

"Anyways, back to what I was saying before," Hurtle said, not very interested in the pick and ban phase. "You and Hades."

"What about Hades and me?" I sighed, giving him a tired look.

Before Hurtle could go on any further, WildTurtle appeared next to him.

"Alright just in time!" Uncle Turtle said, taking the seat next to Hurtle. "Cute Poro, Aph," he commented as he reached over to ruffle Hunter's fur.

"Thanks Uncle Turtle," I grinned, giving my Poro another hug to show him how much I liked him. "His name is Hunter."

"He's a guy Poro?" Uncle Turtle questioned.

"That's exactly what I said!" Hurtle quipped. I rolled my eyes, '_Like father, like son._'

"Anyways, how was the second game? I didn't get to watch it," Uncle Turtle asked.

Thanks to Uncle Turtle, my conversation with Hurtle was finally over. Hurtle started to tell his dad the details of the second game. I knew Hurtle was going to ask me if I liked Hades. Which I did – but not in the way he thought I did. Hades was a really good friend. We got to know each other from duoing together. We weren't super close like Hurtle and I, but I thought we were good friends. I made sure not to tell him too much about my personal life because in reality, I didn't know who he was. I knew his voice – kind of. But people sounded a little different online than they did in real life. Plus, I didn't even know the basics-like his name. I've always just called him Hades.

'_Maybe I'll have some fun with this_,' I thought, smirking. Hurtle and I were always joking with each other and I knew I could definitely use this against him. I'll just casually beat around the bush whenever he decides to ask me. '_It's not like I'm ever going to meet Hades anyways_.'

After formulating my plan, I turned my attention to the stage. The teams were about to enter the game and the audience was cheering.

* * *

><p>The games were finally over for today. History Written beat the Modest Vixens 3-2. It was really close, but positioning cost Modest Vixens the final game. Their mid laner was getting her blue buff when she got caught out. However, they still have a chance to make it into Worlds with the third place seed.<p>

People were bee-lining out of the studio so the three of us decided to sit back and wait until the crowd left.

"Man, I thought MV was going to win that one," Hurtle commented.

"She was too greedy," Uncle Turtle stated and I nodded in agreement.

"There were no wards in that side of her jungle," I pointed out. I watched as the players started packing up their belongings. I saw the disappointing looks from MV. Their mid laner was still sitting in her chair with her head in hands. One of her teammates walked over to her and patted her on the back to let her know it was okay.

HW on the other hand looked elated. They knew for sure that they had a spot, be it the first or second place seed.

"Oh hey, isn't that Hai's son?" Uncle Turtle said pointing at the tall Asian. I looked over and he was with his friends. Dimitri looked over and waved to us. We all waved back and he said something to his friends before walking over to us.

"Hey Dimitri," I greeted. Uncle Turtle said hi before getting up to leave. He was going to talk to some of the staff members before we left. Dimitri took Uncle Turtle's seat.

"Did you guys enjoy watching the games?" he asked us.

"Meh, I expected more from professionals," Hurtle shrugged. I rolled my eyes, Hurtle would say something like that.

"Maybe you should show them how to play," I suggested.

"Next season," Hurtle grinned, "it's almost my time. As they say, slow and steady wins the race."

I just shook my head. I couldn't imagine Hurtle being that patient. What about you Dimitri?" I tried to bring him back into the conversation. It was really easy for me to just talk to Hurtle and exclude others from the conversation.

"I fell asleep during the last game," Dimitri admitted, "but my friends seemed to enjoy it." Hurtle and I laughed at his confession.

"It's okay, you didn't miss much," Hurtle informed, "MV's mid laner threw the game."

We continued chatting for a little bit.

"DIMITRI!" his female friend shouted. I forgot that his friends were waiting for him. "WE'LL BE OUTSIDE," she said before she left with the other guy.

"Oh, sorry. Do you have to go?" I asked him.

"It's alright, I'll catch up with them in a moment," he said, standing up. "There's actually something I wanted to ask you."

I rose an eyebrow, "Oh? What's that?"

"No you can't have her number," Hurtle joked, giving him a stern expression. Hades flushed a little but shook his head.

"That's not what I meant," he muttered.

"Ignore him, what was it?" I felt a little bad for the teasing.

"Well, earlier you called Jasper… Hurtle," he said slowly.

"Oh. Uhm, yeah I guess I did," I said, scratching the back of my head.

"It's my summoner name," Hurtle stated. I guess there was no point in hiding it. "You've probably seen me on top of the challenger ladder," he shrugged. Hades nodded and then looked at me.

"That must mean you're Aphrodite, right?" Hades inquired. Hurtle and I looked at each other before looking back at Dimitri.

"W-wait. How do you know my summoner name?" I asked him, feeling a little startled. He had a small smile on his face.

"I knew you seemed familiar," Hades said, not answering my question. I gave him a quizzical look. "I know because we duo together," he continued.

"I knew it!" Hurtle exclaimed out of the blue. This caused Dimitri and I to both look at him.

"Wait. If we duo together that must mean… you're Hades?" I asked. He nodded again.

"Whoa – who would've thought?" I said in shock. '_Dimitri is Hades. Hades is Dimitri_' I repeated in my head.

"I had the suspicion when we first met," Hades admitted. "But I didn't want to say anything until I was certain. Once you called Jasper, Hurtle – that's when I knew you had to be her," he concluded.

"She's not very good at hiding stuff," Hurtle commented.

"Hey! No one asked you," I swatted his arm and gave him a frown.

"Alright, I should get going," Hades looked down at his watch. I nodded.

"It was nice meeting you in person, Hades," I grinned, "but I guess we've technically already met."

He laughed. "Yeah, talk to you guys later, Aphrodite, Hurtle," he said before walking towards the exit.

"I knew my assumption wasn't stupid!" Hurtle said once we couldn't see Hades anymore.

"The thing from earlier?" I asked him. He nodded. "Well, you're the one who called it stupid," I teased, standing up.

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. We left the studio with all of our merchandise. It was time to find Uncle Turtle.

'_Welp. There goes never meeting him_,' I thought to myself. Time to throw out _that _plan.

* * *

><p>1120/14


	9. Adept

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

* * *

><p>"Thresh is missing, be careful."<p>

I pinged to warn the rest of my team. He didn't return to lane after he and Caitlyn had recalled. Caitlyn was back in lane killing the minions under her turret. I anticipated Thresh's passive when she killed the cannon minion, but not a single soul dropped. This meant that Thresh wasn't in the area.

I moved to place wards in the river, leaving my AD carry to farm on his own. I didn't want him to fall behind from me leeching his experience.

"Oh shit!" Adept cursed as the enemy Thresh appeared in his lane.

"Found him," I said sarcastically as I roamed towards his lane. '_I warned him!_' I shook my head at his lack of wards.

Adept was in the middle of his lane when Thresh arrived. He managed to sidestep the 'Death Sentence' with the help of his 'Command: Dissonance' but the enemy Jarvan IV appeared on the other side, near his tower.

"Damn, they really want me," he muttered.

"I'm coming," I informed him and Adept diverted his pathway towards the bottom side of the river. The enemy Ziggs used his 'Satchel Charge' to get closer and continue the chase. Jarvan IV threw his 'Demacian Standard' down and quickly used his 'Dragon Strike'. I interrupted him by sending a 'Howling Gale' his way. My disengage didn't stop the chase.

Jarvan IV flashed towards us and used his ultimate, 'Cataclysm' to encase us in terrain. I swiftly used my ultimate, 'Monsoon' to push him out. Jarvan IV and Ziggs were now clumped together. Adept quickly placed The Ball on top of them and used 'Command: Shockwave'. Right at that moment our jungler, Kha'Zix jumped into the fight.

Thresh threw his 'Dark Passage' at his teammates, and Ziggs safely took it out. Unfortunately for Jarvan IV, he was left alone. He immediately died to Kha'Zix's isolation damage.

"Nice shockwave," I complimented, shielding Kha'Zix with my 'Eye of the Storm'. We were doing Dragon now that the enemy Jungler was dead.

"I try," he said haughtily and I just rolled my eyes. '_Well then_.'

"It's a good thing I came and saved your ass," I smirked.

"Psh, I could've made it out!" Adept argued.

"It's okay, there's nothing wrong with being saved," I said innocently.

"My _hero_," he drawled in return.

"Save the sarcasm Romeo," I retorted. I waited for my champion to fully recall before browsing the shop. I had a decent amount of gold now.

"Romeo? I didn't know you found me charming," Adept boasted.

"I would hardly characterize Romeo as charming." I quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh? Then what?" Adept asked curiously.

"More like stupid," I admitted.

"Ouch. Hard to please, aren't you?"

"More like realistic. Anyone who thinks Romeo is charming clearly didn't read the play," I said.

"What do you mean? I thought girls liked this Romeo and Juliet stuff."

"Romeo and Juliet knew each other for one day and then decided to get married," I explained.

"That's like what happened in Frozen with what's her face… Anna? And that prince," Adept pointed out. It was like a recurring theme.

"And we all know how that ended," I rebutted.

"Good point, but still! Romeo and Juliet were star-crossed lovers. Even though their families hated each other, he charmed his way into her heart!"

"And her dress – you find that charming?" I questioned. I made my way back to lane and joined my AD carry, now equipped with my Mejai's Soulstealer. It was just a normal game, so why not? "They're like the prime example of 'That escalated quickly'."

"They were in love?" Adept said weakly. He probably knew he wasn't convincing me.

"Sure, whatever you say," I said. I wasn't focused on our conversation anymore. My Tristana just jumped into the enemy Caitlyn. Thresh immediately flayed her away and I shielded her. He landed his 'Death Sentence' on her, but I stopped him from moving towards her with my whirlwind. Tristana used her 'Buster Shot' to knock them away.

"_I didn't mean to do that_," Tristana confessed after we got out of that mess.

"What happened?" Adept asked.

"Tristana pulled a Hurtle," I said and Adept laughed. "This game is too much for my heart," I sighed. It was hard having to protect everyone from their mistakes.

I was watching old LCS videos when Adept messaged me on League to play. I was surprised to find out it was just him. He said that Cyan had a dentist appointment, and Hades was running some errands. Hurtle was already ten minutes into his ranked game so we decided to just play a casual game.

It was nice to get to know each of the individual members on our ranked team. They felt more like friends rather than strangers over the internet. In fact, we recently met Hades in person. Or well, found out who he was.

"Hey Adept," I started as I clicked towards Baron. I wanted to make sure I had a ward there before I returned to my AD carry.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Do you know Hades in real life?" I asked, curiously.

"Yeah, we go to the same school," he answered, "Why'd you ask?"

"That's cool. Hurtle and I bumped into him at Semi-Finals last week," I told him.

"Wait, the day that History Written was playing Modest Vixens?"

"Yeah, that day," I confirmed.

"Whoa! Cyan and I were there too," Adept said in astonishment.

"Really?!" I said surprised. I thought back to that day. I recall Hades being with two other friends. That petite girl clinging onto that tall male. "_Ohh_, that was you two," I said. The two looked like they were dating.

"Yeah, so you were that Poro girl," Adept said.

"W-what. Poro girl?!"

"Yeah, the girl with the Lulu hat. She was super attached to her Poro – well I mean you were, that was you right?"

"…" I didn't want to admit it. Was I really that obvious?

"So it was!" I imagined him grinning. "Don't worry, it was cute," he teased. I felt my cheeks burn. Talk about first impressions. I looked at Hunter who was sitting on my bed staring. He was so cute, it wasn't my fault. I frowned at him but he just looked at me with his tongue hanging out, all happy and stuff.

"Oh man, that means the guy in the Veigar hat was Hurtle, right?" Adept asked for confirmation.

"Yeah, that was him." Kha'Zix and Adept tried to tower dive the enemy Ziggs, but Jarvan IV appeared out of nowhere to counter.

"Ah crap!" he muttered, dodging Jarvan's combo. Kha'Zix got stuck in the 'Cataclysm' and died to one of Zigg's 'Bouncing Bombs'. "That was bad," Adept commented before continuing on with our conversation.

"Cyan wanted to buy matching hats after she saw you guys," Adept admitted, only helping me confirm that they were dating. "But the store closed," he said. He sounded a little relieved.

"A yordle hat would've looked cute on her," I said, thinking back to when I last saw them. Cyan was a pretty girl.

"Yeah and I would've looked like a ridiculously overgrown Yordle," Adept complained and I laughed.

"Well if Hurtle could pull it off, I'm sure you could!" I insisted.

"Maybe it's because he had a cute little Lulu next to him," Adept claimed.

"I'm not little!" I whined, denying his claims. '_Gosh, what's with all the teasing_,' I mused. "Besides, Cyan could have been your 'cute little Lulu'!" I said making air quotes even though he couldn't see them. Adept and Hurtle were both pretty tall compared to Cyan and me.

"So you admit that you were a cute little Lulu," Adept said, completely ignoring my suggestion.

"I didn't mean it like that!" I objected, feeling a little flustered. I didn't say anything after that and decided to focus on the game.

Tristana and I managed to get a kill in bottom lane which helped turn the game around for us. We managed to get the outer turret and roam for the second dragon. Adept and our jungler joined us after a couple of pings. I went to go ward the enemy's blue jungle while the others took down dragon.

"Sorry, you're just too fun to tease," Adept apologized after a few minutes of silence.

"This is why Hades is my favorite," I joked.

"Ouch, you better not let Hurtle hear that," Adept responded a little late. Maybe he was just distracted by something else.

"Hurtle knows he can never be replaced," I reassured, "even if I end preferring Hades over him… but just in case, this conversation never happened."

"Whoops. I'm talking to Hurtle right now…" Adept said slowly. I facepalmed. There was no way I was going to let him continue teasing me. It was getting way too obvious.

"See, this is why I like Hades more than I like you," I sassed. I moved Janna away from the middle lane where Adept was dying.

"Wowww I see how it is!" Adept scoffed as his champion died.

'_That'll teach him not to mess with me_,' I thought mischievously.

* * *

><p>"Guys, we should make a team," Adept announced once we were all gathered for a game.<p>

"Adept, we already have a team," Cyan remarked as Adept sent us all an invite.

"Yeah, we've had this team for a while now," Hurtle reluctantly agreed. Him and Cyan still didn't get along that well. Once I teased them for having a love-hate relationship and they both freaked out and corrected me. Cyan also made a couple of threats. Let's just say that the topic was never brought up again. Adept said it was fine as long as it didn't affect the team atmosphere. Adept had a scary girlfriend.

"I mean, let's have a challenger team," Adept corrected himself.

"Well, we're almost there, right?" We were in Diamond I and one game away from our promotion matches. We didn't play every night, but often enough where we were consistently climbing.

I heard Adept sigh in the background. Clearly we were all not getting something.

"Wait – you don't mean…" Cyan trailed off and I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. What were they talking about?

"Yeah that. I was thinking that…" Adept started but was interrupted by Cyan.

"No. We can find–"

"Cy, where are we going to find–" Adept sounded a little frustrated.

"I don't know! But we can do–" Cyan shot. She didn't seem happy with this.

"Well Hades thought it could be a good–" Adept tried to reason with her.

"WHAT! You confronted Hades before–"

"You were at the dentist office!" Adept defended himself. Finally one completed sentence.

"But still!" Cyan tried to reason, but she couldn't find anything to add.

"Can you guys have your lovers' spat somewhere else?" Hurtle asked impatiently.

"Oh shut it Hurtle," Cyan huffed and left the call. She also left the lobby. I heard Adept sigh once more.

"Sorry guys, let me talk to her," Adept apologized before leaving the call as well. He didn't leave the lobby however.

"Well.. that was interesting," I muttered, slouching on my chair.

"So what was he talking about, Hades?" Hurtle asked curiously. That's right. Adept did mention that Hades had already agreed to it.

"It's probably best if Adept explained it to you guys," Hades said quietly.

"Aw c'mon! You guys just can't leave us hanging on a cliff," Hurtle protested.

"It's fine, I'm sure we can wait," I disagreed. It seemed kind of serious.

"Well what are we going to do now?" Hurtle asked. A huge smile formed on my face.

"There's three of us…" I hinted, knowing what Hurtle's immediate reaction was going to be.

"No. Stop it. Don't even bring it up," Hurtle interjected.

"Don't bring what up?" Hades inquired.

"We can do ranked… Twisted Treeline!" I exclaimed, leaving the lobby.

"We can do that," Hades agreed.

"Don't encourage her," Hurtle cried. I made the lobby and invited the two of them. Hades joined immediately, but Hurtle wasn't accepting.

"Pleaseee Hurtle," I pleaded. It has been so long since I played this mode.

"No," Hurtle answered. I pouted and tried to think of a way to convince him.

"Well I guess mister #1 in Challenger can't win a Twisted Treeline game for his life," I taunted him. If there was one thing about Hurtle, he almost never backed out of a challenge. I learned that the hard way when we were 13 and I told him that he wouldn't be able to build a ten foot snowman. He spent three whole days working on it, and in front of our house was a ten foot snowman. But Hurtle had also caught a cold and was bedridden for the rest of the week.

Within a few seconds of my taunt, Hurtle was in the lobby.

"We're going to get to challenger," he declared, fired up.

"Let's just get through placements first."

* * *

><p>1121/14


	10. Rainy Days

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

* * *

><p>I woke up to the best sound in the world: rain.<p>

I closed my eyes and just listened to the continuous pitter patter on my windows. I was feeling really lazy. I didn't want to get out of bed.

'_Maybe just a few more minutes,_' I told myself, but I knew they were empty words. A few minutes never meant a few minutes. If I didn't get out of bed now then I would probably just fall asleep again and find myself waking up in the afternoon.

'_But my bed is so nice and comfy,_' I thought as I curled up more into my blankets. The weather wasn't helping me at all. I was probably going to stay indoors today so why did it matter whether or not I was in bed or at my desk?

My question was answered by a low growl. '_Why?_' I groaned as I rubbed my stomach. It answered me once more.

'_Fine, fine! I'll feed you,_' I replied, burying my face in Hunter. I kept him on my bed every night. I stayed on my bed for another four minutes before I heard another complaint.

'_Sorry! I mean it this time!_' I reluctantly untangled myself from my blankets and sat on the edge of my bed. I rose my arms up and stretched, releasing a yawn. I blinked a few times, still feeling a little groggy.

I left my bedroom in my PJs and headed down to the kitchen. My parents were notably not home. They were probably running errands or having some date at a café without me. '_They better not be at Perle's!_' I warned, even though they couldn't hear me. They couldn't go to my favorite café without me or at least without bringing me something back.

I stared at my fridge and pondered over what I should eat.

'_What do you want?_' I heard Hurtle's voice asking me.

'_It's not that simple!_' I answered the Hurtle voice.

It really wasn't. The only things in my fridge were ingredients. We also ran out of cereal so that wasn't an option. '_Looks like I'm cooking_.' My stomach complained. '_Yeah, I didn't want to wait for food either_' I agreed.

I cracked two eggs into a bowl and started beating away. It was a chilly day so I decided to make a ham and cheese omelette. As I finished cooking my omelette, I heard a knock on the door. I rose an eyebrow, I wasn't expecting any visitors.

"Coming!" I shouted, quickly plating my breakfast and turning off the stove. I hurried over to my front door and opened it. I didn't want whoever it was to be stuck standing in the rain. The door swung open and standing there was my best friend in a raincoat and no umbrella.

"Hurtle!" I exclaimed and quickly moved aside so he could come in. "Didn't I tell you to use an umbrella when it rains?" I complained. He never liked to carry things and would always opt for the easier route. But that also meant that he was drenched. He dropped his coat on the floor and I glared at him. He saw my expression and immediately picked it up, but the damage was already done. There was a small puddle on the floor.

"I'll go get a towel," he grinned nervously, hanging up his coat.

"Don't bother, I'll do it," I said already halfway up the stairs, "there's an omelette in the kitchen, help yourself!" I shouted as I went through my hallway closet. I grabbed a towel and quickly went to clean up the mess.

As soon as I was done, I went into the kitchen to see Hurtle scarfing down my breakfast. '_I guess I'll make myself another one_.' I opened my fridge to get more ingredients. My stomach complained once more, probably annoyed that it was so close to being fed. I ignored it and proceeded to make my breakfast, _again_.

As I was doing this, I also made Hurtle and myself some tea. "So what's up?" I asked him. He usually gave me a notice whenever he was coming over. I placed the teapot on the counter and handed him a mug. He didn't respond since his mouth was full. "Take your time," I rolled my eyes, walking back to the stove where my omelette was half done.

"I was bored," Hurtle's answer was very simple. I joined him at the counter with my omelette at hand.

"We could've played League or something," I pointed out before eating. He stabbed his fork in my omelette and took a piece.

"Someone's hungry," I commented, pouring us the tea.

"Didn't have breakfast," he shrugged, taking more of my food. I stomach silently protested. "And I came over because I wanted to talk," he added.

"Must be serious," I quirked an eyebrow, "for you to make your way over here."

He remained quiet and we finished my breakfast in silence. He helped me put the plates into the sink before grabbing his mug and walking to the hallway. I followed him with my own mug in hand. We headed to my room. He took a seat at my desk and I took a seat on my bed.

"Alright, what's wrong?" I asked worried.

"I've been thinking about Korea," Hurtle confessed.

"Korea is a nice country," I automatically said. I told myself that I was going to be supportive of my best friend's dreams. I wrapped my hands around my mug and brought it close to my face. I shivered slightly, but welcomed the warmth.

"I told you I was sorry, right?" Hurtle asked, slouching on my chair. I nodded and took a sip of my tea. A couple of weeks after Hurtle found out that he had an offer from Korea, he apologized for not talking to me about it.

"Well I figured it was better late than never – to talk to you about it, I mean," he said. My silence meant that I didn't know how to go about this conversation.

"I talked to Adept last night," Hurtle started and I rose an eyebrow. I wondered just how much the two of them talked. "He told me that he was the other guy at semifinals," Hurtle continued. He didn't look surprised.

"Yeah, I found out about that yesterday," I said, still a little shocked at how small the world was.

"I kind of figured when I saw Cyan clinging onto him," Hurtle smirked. I was pretty impressed by my best friend's deductive skills.

"Really?" I asked. I thought about Cyan and her personality. She did seem really fond of Adept, but that's also because they were dating, right? It was only natural.

"Yeah," Hurtle grinned, proud of his deduction skills, "Just call me Sherlock," he boasted.

"Okay _Sherlock_," I rolled my eyes as I said that, "What did you and Adept talk about?"

"That's a good question, my dear Watson!" Hurtle straightened up in my chair. I grimaced, this was going to be a long day. "Did you know that Adept is also trying to become a professional?" Hurtle asked me.

"Yeah, I think he mentioned it," I remembered. It wasn't uncommon for someone to go pro.

"Well he's the son of Rekkles and Deft," Hurtle revealed and my jaw dropped.

"Wait, _the_ Rekkles and Deft?" I repeated and he nodded. My parents had told me about their competition when I asked them more about their past. They were nonetheless happy to share stories with me and were glad that I was now interested in their career. They had also showed me pictures from when they were younger. Rekkles was attractive when he was younger, and the story about his bromance with Deft made me squeal. They were a match made in heaven and here I was, friends with their son.

"Enough fangirling," Hurtle said, breaking me out of my trance. I blushed, it was so romantic though! I couldn't help but be interested. "Man, if only Adept was here to see your reaction," Hurtle smirked and I glared at him.

"You wouldn't," I dared, almost regretting it.

"Try me," he stuck his tongue out and I threw Hunter at him – which he luckily caught.

"I'm sorry Hunter!" I cried out, putting my mug down on my bedside table and running over to him. I took him from Hurtle and hugged him before returning to my bed.

"Hey! What about my apology! I almost spilled hot tea on myself!" Hurtle complained as I sat down.

"So, go on," I said completely ignoring his protests.

"Well apparently he and his parents don't get along," Hurtle continued. I frowned. That wasn't good. I knew how it felt not to get along with one parent, but two?

"Yeah," he confirmed when he saw my expression, "Apparently they want him to play AD carry."

"I'd bet. They were both really good," I commented. I remember Doublelift telling me that Rekkles and Deft were both young when they made their debut. Fnatic really wanted Rekkles on their team, so they even waited for him to be old enough to play in the LCS.

"But he wants to play mid," Hurtle reminded me. I took another sip of my tea. That was right, Adept always played mid lane when he could. I thought it was because it was easier to synergize with Cyan.

"So he made a deal with his parents," Hurtle said slowly. He seemed a little hesitant to tell me. "If he could make a team that could make it to the LCS, he'll be allowed to play mid. If not, he has to listen to his parents and tryout for teams as an AD carry," Hurtle explained.

"That's terrible!" I remarked, lowering my mug. His parents were trying to make him play a role that he didn't want to just because they were both amazing AD carries?

"Being an AD carry isn't terrible!" Hurtle protested and I giggled.

"Not everything is about you, Hurtle," I grinned.

"Just saying," Hurtle held his hands up in defense.

"Put your hands up!" I said as he made the motion, "I'm placing you under arrest," I mockingly said. He quirked an eyebrow, but had a very amused look on his face.

"Sounds kinky," he said and I face-palmed.

"Way to ruin it," I muttered, pouting. He just laughed and put his hands back down.

"Sorry sheriff," he apologized, but I knew he wasn't sorry.

"I thought I was Watson," I reminded him.

"Sheriff Watson?" Hurtle put together and I just shook my head.

"We're getting distracted, get on with the story," I said, flopping on my stomach, being careful not to spill my tea.

"So yesterday – when Cyan freaked out," Hurtle went on. I remember Cyan getting mad at Adept for not talking to her about something. I guess this was it. '_At least we got to play Twisted Treeline_,' I thought of the positive. We needed one more game for our placements. Hurtle was actually really good at the map. I'd never admit it though – don't need to boost his ego even more.

"It was because Adept wanted us to be on the team and –" I didn't let Hurtle continue.

"_WHAT_," I stared at him. I couldn't have heard him correctly.

"Adept wants us to be on his team," Hurtle said once more.

"I don't remember saying anything about wanting to –" he cut me off this time.

"I know Aph, I told him that. He wanted me to talk to you about it," Hurtle disclosed. I frowned. Sure I liked playing the game, but I still didn't want to become a professional.

"I also told him that I had an offer from Korea," Hurtle went on like I never interrupted.

"And?" I asked impatiently. He continued to ignore my outbursts.

"And he sounded pathetic," Hurtle said truthfully. "He really wants us to consider it," Hurtle grimaced. Knowing Hurtle, he probably said he would. Hurtle wasn't completely heartless that he'd brush aside a friend – even if he was an online friend.

"So here I am, ready to talk to you about it," Hurtle stated, leaning back. He brought his hands together and interlaced them. He just looked at me, waiting for me to talk.

"What about Korea?" I asked him. I realized I was just looking for excuses. I didn't even want Hurtle to move away, but here I was bringing it up like it was the better option.

"I still have almost two months to decide," Hurtle informed me. Semifinals just happened recently, there was still a lot of time before the Championship actually began.

"So you're willing to give up Korea to form a challenger team?" I demanded. My voice got louder and my grip on my mug got tighter. Hurtle was so close to his dream, was he really going to take a few steps back?

"I don't know," Hurtle frowned. "It's a risk that I don't know if I want to take," he confided.

"I think that… if you were really against the idea, you wouldn't be here talking to me about it," I observed. Hurtle probably would have just told Adept no, and told him that I wasn't interested. But the fact that Hurtle was here in my room talking about it meant a part of him wavered.

He gave me a small smile, "And that's why you're my best friend. You already knew." I laughed. We really did know each other well.

"Wow," I said as I put my mug on the floor before rolling over onto my back. "Who would have thought," I muttered, staring up at the ceiling.

"What?"

"Only a few years ago I was totally against playing this game," I turned my head so I could see him. "Then I was okay with playing the game, but refused to consider it as a career…" I trailed off.

"… and?" Hurtle gave me a verbal nudge to continue.

"And now I'm here listening to you and thinking about whether or not I want to _try_," I emphasized the last word. This was difficult for me. I told myself for years that I wasn't going to be like my parents. I wanted a normal job, a normal life. I didn't want to be famous – not that I was guaranteed fame anyways. We could end up losing and not making it to the LCS.

"Y'know. I didn't mention this before, but if I went to Korea, my support was going to be a guy named Mada," Hurtle brought up. I narrowed my eyes and flipped back over to my stomach.

"What does 'Mada' have anything to do with this?" I asked him curiously. Who was this 'Mada' person anyways?

"He's the son of Mata… and Madlife," Hurtle mumbled the last part.

"I refuse!" I objected. There was no way my best friend was going to have that person's… spawn as a support.

"That's why I didn't tell you," Hurtle smiled weakly. I huffed. Of course he'd keep this away from me. If I knew, I probably wouldn't visit him in Korea. Even though my relationship with Doublelift was slowly recovering, I still haven't fully forgiven him. I definitely didn't want to have anything to do with Madlife either.

"But… if we made a team, then you'd be my support," Hurtle reasoned. That's right. Assuming that the team consisted of Hades, Cyan and Adept – that would leave Hurtle and I with the bottom lane. I'd be supporting my best friend.

"And we already have good synergy…" Hurtle continued. That was true as well. Years of friendship made us good at reading each other's mind. He almost always knew when I was going to engage or when I was just poking. There were very few things I had to tell him when we were playing together. He knew when I was going to ward, or when I was going to roam. He would then adjust his play. There was almost never a 'Where were you?' or 'Why didn't you fight?'. There was just trust.

Before I could say anything, I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in," I said and the door opened. Both of my parents were standing there.

"Oh hey Jasper," Aphromoo greeted when he looked around the room. "I figured you were over," he stated.

"What's with the serious looks?" Doublelift inquired. Hurtle and I looked at each other before looking back at my parents.

"How did you guys decide that you wanted to go pro?" I asked my parents slowly. Within moments, their eyes widened. They looked at each other, Aphromoo nodded and then they both entered my room. They took a seat on my bed.

"You're thinking about going pro?" Aphromoo asked me. Doublelift didn't say anything. Probably because we've had this conversation together many times before and it usually ended up bad.

"Hurtle's thinking about it," I joked. Everyone knew that Hurtle was going to go pro no matter what. "… and I might be supporting him," I finally said. Aphromoo's face immediately lit up. I rolled my eyes. I figured he'd be happy. He did support Doublelift after all.

"With your ranked team?" Doublelift asked. He didn't express the same happiness that Aphromoo did. Instead, he looked a little worried.

"Maybe," Hurtle interjected. My parents looked at him, almost forgetting that he was a part of this conversation as well.

"We all know that Aph doesn't want to become a professional," Hurtle started and both of my parents nodded in acknowledgement, "And we all know that I got an offer in Korea," once again my parents nodded. This was all old news.

"But one of our friends asked us to make a challenger team with him," Hurtle informed them.

"You guys would have to play in the Summer Promotion," Doublelift pointed out and Hurtle nodded.

"Yeah, we'll have to play in the Challenger Series in Spring." Hurtle already knew what had to be done. "There's no guarantee that we'll make it…" Hurtle trailed off.

"You guys will be in the LCS for one split," Aphromoo jumped in, "and then try to qualify for Worlds."

This was all too much information for me. There were tournaments to participate in, but first we had to make it into the top 20 before the freeze date which was in January.

"That'll give us enough time to build team synergy," Hurtle believed and my parents looked conflicted.

"Possibly. You guys already play together now, right?" Aphromoo asked for confirmation.

"Yeah, we're about to hit Challenger," I told my parents.

"Impressive," Doublelift praised. "Who would've thought that our little girl was going to play League competitively," he said looking at Aphromoo.

Aphromoo rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. We know. You always knew this was going to happen."

"I didn't say that!" Doublelift said bewildered. He put his hands up like Hurtle did earlier in defense.

"C'mon dad. We all know," I too rolled my eyes and he grinned at me.

"Well then… I told you so," he smirked and I groaned.

"I didn't say yes yet!" I complained.

"But you didn't say no," Doublelift chuckled.

"Stop mocking her," Aphromoo glared at Doublelift.

"Sorry," Doublelift squeaked, not wanting to piss off Aphromoo.

"Hun, what do you want?" Aphromoo ignored Doublelift's guilty looks and turned to me.

"She doesn't know –" Hurtle began, but he was cut off when Aphromoo rose his hand to silence him.

"I asked Stella," he said, not looking away from me. "What do you want?" he asked me again.

I sighed and just hugged Hunter.

"I'm… not against trying it," I mumbled, not looking at any of them. I could feel them exchanging looks with each other. However, before they could comment… "BUT," I looked up and saw that all eyes were on me. "But I'm still not all for it," I said. I had to be realistic about this. I was barely in Diamond and I only started to enjoy playing the game more.

"We'll let the two of you talk about this," Aphromoo said, getting up. He made a move to my door before looking over his shoulder. "Peter…" he called Doublelift's name to signal that he too had to leave.

"Fine…" Doublelift reluctantly got up, "but you have to tell us what you decide," he gave me a pointed look. I just nodded and the two of them left.

"Well that didn't help me at all," I grimaced.

"They support you," Hurtle told me. I cast my eyes down. I guess that was true. They were willing to let me decide what I wanted to do. If this was a couple of months ago, Doublelift would have immediately agreed to the idea without my input.

"Hurtle, what do you think?" I asked him. I wanted a second opinion.

"Huh? You want my opinion?" he questioned and I nodded. "I think that you should think about it. I'm not saying that you should accept or deny, but you should think about it," Hurtle emphasized the last part.

I groaned. That didn't help me at all. It only confirm what I already knew. I grabbed my pillow and held it over my head. My reaction made Hurtle laugh.

"C'mon, let's go run out in the rain," he suggested, leaving my desk and walking over to my bed. He pulled the pillow from my grasp and tossed it back where it belonged.

"Y'know that'll make you feel better," he grinned.

"So much for staying indoors…" I mumbled before getting off my bed. I decided to listen to my best friend. I could probably use this to clear my mind. I kicked him out of my room and changed out of my PJs. I decided to change into a dress because we were planning on being drenched head to toe. Wearing jeans would make me feel terrible after. I met Hurtle downstairs who grabbed my umbrella and handed me my coat. I tossed him the sweatshirt I brought for him. His coat was already soaked.

"We'll be back!" I yelled and we were out before my parents could ask us where we were going. Hurtle grabbed my hand and started running towards the park. The umbrella stayed closed in his other hand.

"We're going to get sick!" I called out as I chased after Hurtle.

"No we won't!" Hurtle reassured as we neared the park. I felt the rain crash down on me and took a deep breath. This felt nice. As soon as we made it to the park, Hurtle let go of my hand and halted.

"Swings?" he asked me.

"Swings," I confirmed and we raced over to the swing set. We both took a seat and he dropped the umbrella next to him. We were already soaked, but I didn't feel cold – not yet. The adrenaline kept me warm.

We both kicked off the ground. I leaned my head back slightly and let the rain hit my face. We were the only ones at the park. We spent countless minutes on the swings competing with each other to see who could get the highest. Hurtle won, but I claimed that it was only because he had longer legs so it looked like he went higher.

We took turns going down the slides and ran around the jungle gym playing tag. It felt like we were kids again, and not last years in secondary school. My dress was definitely going to be ruined after all of this. Hurtle grabbed both of my hands and we spun around in circles, dancing in the rain.

"Feel better?" Hurtle asked me. We were both sitting on the floor exhausted. It was still raining.

"Much better," I said before sneezing. "And terribly cold," I winced. He rolled his eyes and jumped up. He offered me a hand which I accepted and pulled me up.

"Let's go warm up at my place," Hurtle decided and I nodded. His house was closer to the park anyways. He went to pick up the abandoned umbrella and met me at the entrance. He opened it and shielded both of us from the rain. Not that it mattered anyways because we were already soaked to our bones.

When we arrived at his house, Uncle Turtle wasn't home. We both headed upstairs and he tossed me a towel and some of his clothes. I gratefully took the items and headed into the bathroom. The bathroom floor was already wet due to the water dripping from my clothes and hair. I shivered, deciding it was time to shower.

When I left the bathroom wrapped in a shirt that was too big for me and boxer shorts, Hurtle was already changed. He had two steaming cups of hot chocolate on his desk. He had his league client open and was chatting with Adept. I took one of the cups and let the liquid warm me. I ignored the burning sensation on my tongue.

"If I get sick tomorrow, I'm supporting Hades in top," I threatened Hurtle. He laughed and turned to look at me with his father's smile.

"Adept was asking if we've decided yet," Hurtle informed me.

"Oh? And what did you say?" I asked him. Hurtle looked at the screen and then back at me.

"I haven't answered him."

"Oh," I furrowed my eyebrows. I almost completely forgot about the offer after our trip to the park.

"What should I say?" Hurtle asked me. At that point, I knew Hurtle was already agreeing to the offer, but now he was just asking me for my confirmation. I stared at my best friend. He was willing to give up Korea to make a challenger team that may or may not make it into the LCS. He was willing to stay here in Germany. This was his way of letting me help him decide. My answer could determine whether or not Hurtle stayed.

Was I ready to decide my future career? If I didn't like it, I could always back out. I had the support of my parents, I had the support of Hurtle and I had the support of my teammates – well I wasn't sure about Cyan. I knew Hades wouldn't mind if Hurtle and I joined the team. Hurtle waited patiently for my response. This was a big decision that I wasn't sure I was ready to make. But… a part of me wanted to take the risk. A part of me wanted to see how far we could go. A part of me wanted to… _try_.

"Tell him…" I started, thinking over my words. I could always spend more time thinking about it. But I knew with one look at Hurtle's face, that I've secretly already decided.

"Tell him that he's got himself a bot lane."

* * *

><p>1122/14


	11. 2 Plus 3 Equals

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

SPOILER ALERT: a short scene from the movie, The Notebook, is described in this chapter. That is all c: enjoy.

* * *

><p>"I'm going to kill Hurtle," I mumbled, pulling the covers over my head. I felt absolutely terrible. Sure yesterday's trip to the park was really fun, but the aftermath was almost like having a terrible hangover. My forehead was burning up and I was shivering incessantly.<p>

"Aph, it's time to get up!" Aphromoo called from the other side of my door. I groaned and wrapped myself in my blanket. There was_ no_ way I was getting up.

"Mmph!" was the only response I gave him.

"Stella…" Aphromoo warned me. He was being serious, but there really was no way I was going to budge. He waited a few seconds.

"Stella Rose Black, you better wake up now or else you'll be late for school!" he demanded, using my full name. When I didn't respond, I heard him sigh and open my door. He looked ready to give me an earful, but when he saw me, his eyes widened.

"What happened to you?!" he gasped, rushing over to my side. He placed the back of his hand on my forehead. He flinched when he felt how hot I was.

"This is because you and Jasper ran outside yesterday, isn't it?" he accused, glaring at me. I gave him a guilty smile before hiding under my blanket.

"Fine. I'll call the school," Aphromoo mumbled and left my side. Before he made it out the door, he stopped. "I'm going to make you some soup, and then I'm going to come back up here and give you a piece of my mind!" he sassed. I heard my door close and I just let out a big sigh. I stuck an arm out from under my covers and started to reach around until I found my cell phone. I pulled it apart from the charger and brought it underneath my blanket.

"_You're. so. dead._," I texted Hurtle. I didn't have to wait long for his reply.

"_I don't think you're in the position to kill me,_" Hurtle responded. I felt the corner of my eye twitch when I read his text. He knew I was sick so he probably was too.

"_I'll drag myself all the way to your house,_" I threatened. I could imagine myself acting like a zombie, on the sidewalk, crawling on all fours, slowly making my way to his house with a butter knife in one hand.

"…_You wouldn't hurt a sick person_," Hurtle protested. He probably imagined the same thing I did and either laughed or felt frightened. I was hoping the latter.

"_You won't be sick anymore if you're dead,_" I pointed out and smiled. Nothing better than to start your day by threatening your best friend.

"_But you loveee me!_" Hurtle quickly texted back, trying to reason with me.

"_Love can be fleeting… like your life,_" I smirked at my simile. My conversation with Hurtle was put on a halt as soon as Aphromoo returned to my room. He gave me a glass of water and a couple of pills. After I took them, he stuck a thermometer in my mouth. I gave him an unhappy look, but the expression on his face dared me to even try to complain.

"102.2 degrees…" Aphromoo muttered as he read the thermometer.

"Uh dad?" I questioned him.

"Oh right, that's about…" Aphromoo took a moment to calculate, "39 degrees Celsius." I just nodded and closed my eyes.

"Anyways, like I was saying earlier!" Aphromoo started, clearly not aware that I was trying really hard not to pay attention. "This is all because you guys decided to run out in the rain yesterday!" I opened my eyes and quirked an eyebrow. He motioned for me to sit up and handed me my bowl of soup to eat while he lectured me.

"I don't know whose stupid idea that was… okay it was probably Jasper's…" he continued. He was pretty much spot on. "But it doesn't mean you had to listen to him!" I wasn't off the hook just yet. I ate five spoonfuls of soup before I couldn't eat anymore. I placed my bowl on my bedside table as Aphromoo continued his rant.

"I thought I raised you better to know—"

"Dad." I cut him off. He looked at me, but didn't say anything.

"Hurtle was just helping me clear my mind – yes it was a stupid idea, but it helped me a lot," I explained and my father just sat there and listened.

"We're going to do the challenger team," I informed him what I didn't last night.

"I've got to tell Peter!" Aphromoo said happily, not even bothering to let me finish talking. He left my side and immediately went downstairs to tell Doublelift the news. Their daughter was finally going to follow in their footsteps.

"Ah well, at least he forgot I'm sick," I mumbled, ducking my head under my covers once more. I grabbed my cell phone and saw that I had three texts from Hurtle.

"_Good one Aph,_" said the first text.

"_Aph? You weren't serious were you…_" was the second text.

"_I'M SORRY APH, DON'T CRAWL TO MY HOUSE_," Hurtle apologized in the third text.

"_Oh god. You're actually crawling over here aren't you?!_" came after, before I could respond to him. I quirked an eyebrow, definitely enjoying my best friend's reactions. Maybe I'll let him panic for a little bit longer...

My screen changed and Hurtle's contact picture popped up. It was the picture of us in front of the castle in Disneyland Paris. We both had those Mickey Mouse ears on and a stick of cotton candy. We were so young back then.

I was too busy reminiscing that I missed his phone call.

'_Whoops_' I giggled and tried to call him back, but the line was busy. I hung up and tried again, '_Still busy_'. He was probably trying to call me while I was trying to call him. I decided to wait for him to call me again, but it didn't happen so I tried to call him once more. The line was busy again. This was getting really frustrating. You'd think that they would have found a way to fix this problem, but nope.

I gave up and put my phone down. I wasn't in the mood to deal with this. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Maybe a nap would help me clear my mind. I started to doze off but was awoken by the sound of my ringtone.

"DAMMIT HURTLE," I growled, picking up my phone. I answered him and then placed my phone next to my head on the pillow.

"YOU'RE ALIVE!" Hurtle shouted and I winced. He was too loud. I should have just ignored him.

"And you're not dead _yet_."

* * *

><p>"Dragon is almost up," I informed my teammates.<p>

"Hades do you have TP?" Adept asked.

"Ten seconds," Hades responded. We were playing our second ranked 5's game since the day Hurtle and I decided to join Adept and his quest to get into the Challenger scene. It took a little convincing before Cyan finally accepted us as her teammates. I'm not sure why though. It wasn't like we didn't play together before. We had our ranked 5's team before we even decided to start playing more seriously. I guess it had something to do with her and Hurtle not getting along. Those two would occasionally butt heads with each other. I was generally quiet – otherwise she would probably argue with me too.

"Their Draven is recalling," Hurtle said as we pushed them out. He was on Corki and I was on Morgana. One clutch 'Dark Binding' on their Draven gave Hurtle the chance to chunk him down to less than half health. We didn't get the kill though because Draven took Thresh's 'Dark Passage' to safety.

We made our way to dragon to join Cyan who was on Rammus. Adept moved down to help us, but stayed away to help zone out the enemy Malzahar and Elise. We quickly took dragon before their team started to make a move on us.

"Maokai is teleporting down!" Hades warned us as he too began his teleport a few seconds after. Maokai immediately engaged when he arrived, using his 'Twisted Advance' onto Adept's Katarina. Adept reacted by using his 'Shunpo' onto Cyan's Rammus. He ended up bringing the enemy Maokai into us.

"Whoops," Adept said. Maokai used his 'Vengeful Maelstrom" as soon as he reached us. In return, Rammus used "Puncturing Taunt" to peel Maokai away from Katarina. At the same time, Malzahar flashed forward and I immediately placed my 'Black Shield' onto Corki.

"Thanks Aph," Hurtle said, kiting backwards now that he was safe from Malzahar's suppression. Hades's Rumble appeared behind the enemy team and he dropped "The Equalizer" onto three of their champions. As soon as Rumble's ultimate landed, he was hooked by Thresh's 'Death Sentence'. They were planning on killing Hades first since he was separated from the rest of the team. I watched as Thresh used his 'Death Leap' to get closer to Hades and 'Flay' him back.

"I'm ulting!" I informed my team.

I was already moving into the fight before I flashed in and used my 'Soul Shackles'. This helped to slow the enemy team. However, I was hit by Elise's 'Cocoon' and only managed to stun the Malzahar and Maokai. But it was enough. Corki used 'Valkyrie' to get closer into the fight and started to attack the enemy Malzahar. Adept quickly finished him off and teleported to Hades using his 'Shunpo' once more. Hades had flashed closer to the team as soon as he was no longer CC'd.

Draven arrived late to the fight since he had backed before we went to dragon.

"Watch out for Draven ult," Cyan warned Hades, but it was too late. Draven used his 'Whirling Death' and managed to snipe the low Rumble.

"Draven!" Adept ordered and we all turned our focus to their AD carry who finally appeared in the fight. I landed a 'Dark Binding' and Thresh did his best to peel for his AD carry. Thresh ended up dying in the process, but Elise escaped over to her Blue buff with the use of 'Rappel'. Draven had used his 'Stand Aside' to stop Adept's Katarina from chasing. Somewhere along that, Maokai died thanks to Rammus and Corki. We had only lost one for three and managed to get Dragon.

"Good job everyone," Adept praised as we started our recalls.

"Thanks!" Cyan said cheerfully. Hurtle snorted quietly, but it didn't go unnoticed. I could imagine Cyan narrowing her eyes. "Is there a problem?" she tested.

"You guys…" Adept sighed.

"What?" Hurtle asked innocently, "did something happen?"

"You know what happened!" Cyan retorted.

"Guys stop. You guys need to get along if we're going to take this team thing seriously," Adept said unwavering. We had all agreed that Adept was going to be the team captain since the team was his idea in the first place. Before our matches, we were trying to figure out who our main shot callers were going to be. Cyan and Hurtle both said that they should be the ones, and then proceeded to have a small argument about it.

In the end, Adept decided that he would do most of the shot calling for mid-late game and that Cyan could keep track of the objectives since she was the jungler. However, she was too busy trying to gank for Adept that I ended up being the one calling for Dragons and keeping track of the big objective timers.

Cyan was not very happy with that. After the game, Adept suggested that I do the objective shot calling for the team and Cyan immediately objected. She claimed that she would have done it if I didn't beat her to it each time. Hurtle defended me and called her out for being too busy to shot call because she was camping mid all the time.

Needless to say, Adept put them on time-out for our second game. They weren't allowed to talk to each other until they broke the agreement just now.

"But he started it!" Cyan complained to Adept. I tried not to say anything. I was hoping to leave the objectives to Cyan so she'd be happy, but I couldn't help it when I mentioned Dragon earlier.

"We'll talk about this after," Adept ordered and everyone became quiet again. The only talking came from Adept's shot-calling, TP timers from Hades, and summoner timers from me – with the occasional objective timers from Cyan when I didn't ping them out (I tried really hard not to say anything about them). Closing out the game was a struggle since it was clear that Hurtle and Cyan didn't want to work together. Animosity was shown in their gameplay.

"_Hurtle please!_" I begged him, whispering to him.

He replied with a "_Fine. But only because you asked_."

The game went a little better from there on, but I could tell that Hurtle still wasn't trying as hard as he could have. At least he made some effort.

* * *

><p>"Good game everyone," Adept said as we were greeted by the <strong>VICTORY<strong> animation on our screens.

"We had a few mishaps," Adept pointed out, "but we managed to beat the other team." He was getting into his captain mode. "It's still very clear that we don't have any team synergy…" I bit my lip. Were we ever going to have team synergy? We've been playing together for a while now and things still haven't really improved.

"So I think it's best that we do some team bonding," Adept declared.

"What?" Hurtle inquired. I was confused too. We were already sort of bonding by playing these games together.

"Well. It's clear that we all live in Germany," Adept started. There was a few murmurs of agreement.

"Germany is a big country though," Hurtle pointed out.

"Well I'm assuming you guys live in Berlin, right?" Adept asked us.

"Yeah we do," I confirmed.

"Then it shouldn't be a problem. We're in the city too," Adept informed us. I rose an eyebrow. When my parents told me that this was where all the retired league pros lived, they weren't kidding. Cyan's parents were also former professionals. She was the daughter of xPeke and Cyanide. I guess I could have figured that out by her summoner name.

"So why don't we go… watch a movie or something?" Adept suggested.

'_Eh? A movie with them?_' I asked myself. That didn't sound too bad.

"You mean now we have to hang out with them _in person_?" Cyan complained.

"I rather not," Hurtle agreed with her. There only seemed to be a few things that the two ever agreed on, and it was mostly agreements on not having anything to do with each other.

"I-I think that'd be cool," I mumbled into my microphone.

"Hades?" Adept asked our silent top laner for his opinion.

"Sure," was all Hades said.

"Great! That's 3 against 2. Majority votes for the movie!" Adept announced. I heard a groan from Hurtle.

"There aren't any good movies out!" Cyan stated. She really didn't want to hang out with us.

"Then what other group activity can we do?" Adept asked us. I heard some furious typing coming from someone. I realized it was probably between Adept and Cyan because Hurtle wasn't sending me anything and there was no reason for Hades to be typing. Hades was always the calm one and he had already agreed to hanging out.

"If we have to meet…" Hurtle was still reluctant, "Why don't we do something like paintballing?" he suggested. My eyes widened at that suggestion. I wasn't ready for that. Paintballing hurt… and it could probably get violent really fast. I imagined Cyan and Hurtle on opposing teams…

"Let's do something less violent," Hades stated.

"Yeah, the last thing we need is for you guys to kill each other," Adept agreed. I sighed in relief. Thank goodness for those two.

"That's no fun…" I heard Hurtle grumble. Cyan remained quiet, but I could still hear her typing. Mechanical keyboards were loud.

"How about food? Everyone likes food," I suggested. We could probably just go to a restaurant and hang out. It didn't have to be too fancy.

"YEAH! APH'S A GREAT COOK!" Hurtle sang and my jaw dropped a little. That wasn't exactly my idea.

"Wait—" I weakly protested.

"Sounds good to me," Adept agreed.

"But—"

"Home-cooked food sounds nice," Hades stated. I frowned and waited for Cyan to decline. I doubt she'd want to eat my cooking.

"Yeah, let's see what she can do," Cyan snickered.

"Then that's that, we'll have a meal at Aphrodite's," Adept proposed. Were they going to let me have any say?

"We can have it at my place, my father's always out and about anyways," Hurtle offered. That was true. Hurtle spent most of his time home alone because his father was busy working. It was a lot of effort to raise a child alone, even with child support.

"Alright, then we'll have a meal at Hurtle's," Adept corrected his previous statement. I heard a groan from Cyan, but she didn't reject the idea.

"This weekend sound good?" Hurtle asked everyone. I didn't bother to say anything and just sulked in my chair.

"I'm free," Hades said.

"Me too, and Cyan," Adept added. Of course he knew his girlfriend's schedule.

"Great," Hurtle said, "We can play board games or something."

"Boring," Cyan responded.

"Or watch a movie," Hurtle shot back.

"Only if I get to choose it!" Cyan yelled out.

"I don't trust your taste in movies," Hurtle objected.

"Hey! For your information, I have very–"

"Hades will bring the movie," Adept cut her off, "Won't you, Hades?" he asked his best friend. I learned from Hades that Adept was the first friend he made when he moved over to Germany. On the other hand, Cyan and Adept had been childhood friends since forever because of the history between their parents. The two of them grew up living in the houses next to each other while Hades was only a couple blocks away.

"Yeah sure," Hades said simply.

"Great, so Aphrodite will cook the food, Hurtle will host and Hades will bring the movie," Adept started to check things off the list. "What should Cyan and I do?" he asked.

"Show up," Hurtle said sarcastically with a hidden meaning in his words.

"What do you—" I swear the two were always going to be fighting.

"Cyan and I will bring a couple of board games," Adept offered, ignoring Hurtle's comment.

"Sounds good," Hurtle shrugged.

"Alright then, see you guys Saturday," Adept finalized our plans. Afterwards, Hurtle gave everyone his address and I felt exhausted. I guess it would be okay if I made everyone food, but I really wished they'd ask me for my approval. Sure I suggested food, but I wasn't expecting myself to be the one cooking it!

We ended the call for the night because it was getting late. We spent too much time talking about the game after and planning our get together. It only made me realize that this was now my reality. I had a team, and we were all going to try to get into the LCS and maybe one day Worlds.

"What did I get myself into?" I asked myself. My head dropped back and I closed my eyes.

"… what am I going to make?" was the real question.

* * *

><p>Saturday came by pretty quickly. I told my parents about the gathering, and they wanted to be there to meet my teammates. I promptly told them no. I wasn't going to let them embarrass me.<p>

"You can take me grocery shopping though," I offered.

"You guys aren't going together?" Aphromoo asked me.

"Nope. It'd be too inconvenient. I said I'd go by myself since I'll be the one cooking," I told him.

"WHAT!" Doublelift said, outraged. "Why are you doing the cooking? It's not because you're a girl, is it?" he complained. I rolled my eyes.

"Hurtle was bragging about how good my cooking was…" I told him, but he didn't want to hear any of it.

"Just because you're a girl doesn't mean you should be the one cooking!"

"Peter," Aphromoo interrupted Doublelift's dramatic rant. "Would you eat Jasper's cooking?" he asked him seriously. Doublelift remained quiet as he thought about this.

"Aph, you're cooking," Doublelift nodded simply, no trace of his earlier disagreement to be found. I rolled my eyes.

"Hurtle can make pasta!" I argued, trying to defend my best friend.

"Remember the first time he made pasta?" Aphromoo asked me.

"Yeah! I spent hours scrubbing the burnt pasta at the bottom of the pot," Doublelift grumbled.

"He was learning?"

"He got bored of watching the pot and left…" Aphromoo gave me a pointed look.

"Well now we know why I'm cooking."

* * *

><p>"Smells good!" Adept complimented when he walked into the kitchen, followed by Cyan and Hades.<p>

"Hi," I smiled, greeting them quickly before turning my attention back to the dumplings I was frying. I decided that Chinese food would be the easiest to make. I already finished cooking the chicken fried rice when I started to fry the dumplings we made. I had to teach Hurtle how to fold them so the process would be faster.

"I hope you guys are hungry," I said as I flipped the dumplings on their side. This was my last batch. The rest was already on the counter.

"We'll be eating while we watch the movie," I informed them. Hurtle and I agreed that it would be best to do an activity while we ate. We didn't want the awkwardness of everyone sitting around the table trying to get to know each other.

"Sounds good – Hey Dimitri," Adept turned to his friend, "What movie did you bring?" he asked curiously. Hades flustered a little in response.

"I told my dad about the gathering… and just asked him to grab me a movie," he tried to explain. I quirked an eyebrow wondering why he was acting nervous, "And I didn't look at it until I was already in the car on the way here…"

"I didn't know you were into these kinds of movies," Hurtle said, entering the kitchen. In his hand was the DVD case, but I couldn't see what it was.

"What do you mean 'these kinds of movies'," Cyan narrowed her eyes.

"Man. You're scary online and in person," Hurtle joked and left the kitchen before Cyan could respond.

"Oliver, I swear if he pisses me off today," she mumbled to the guy next to him. Adept—er I guess Oliver was his name, placed an arm around her shoulders and reassured her that it would be fine. Cyan was bright pink from the small gesture, but Adept didn't seem to notice.

'_Man, too many names,_' I thought to myself. It was going to be hard adjusting to their actual names.

"Well you guys can go to the living room, I'll be out with the food soon," I told them. Hades nodded and left the room with Cyan following. Adept didn't move.

"Need any help?" he asked me. I noticed that Cyan stopped at the kitchen entrance when she heard him talk.

"It's fine! Go join the others," I said hesitantly. I didn't want to get on her bad side right away.

Adept ignored me and started to pick up the bowl of fried rice. "Where does he keep his utensils?" he asked me. "Here Cy," he said handing her the bowl of fried rice. "Bring this to the living room," he ordered and she reluctantly left, giving me a quick look before leaving.

I had a mental sweat drop. It wasn't like I was trying to steal her boyfriend! I panicked a little and accidentally dropped a dumpling on my bare foot. "Ouch!" I winced, hopping on the other foot. It was still hot.

"Are you okay?!" Adept asked, rushing over to my side.

"Just clumsy," I admitted, embarrassed.

"Silly," he grinned, grabbing the plate of dumplings. I glanced at him and quickly looked away. Now that he was closer, I confirmed that he really did have pretty eyes. "What, is there something on my face?" he asked me, trying to look for a reflective surface.

"You're imagining things," I simply told him, walking away to grab the bowls and utensils.

"TIME FOR THE MOVIE!" Hurtle called out from the living room.

"Better join them," I said, leaving Adept in the kitchen. He quickly followed out after me. When we arrived to the living room, the lights were dimmed. Hurtle and Hades claimed the bean bags on the floor while Cyan was on the couch. I looked around for another option. I did NOT feel comfortable sitting next to the couple. Especially when I saw the movie's title appear on the screen: **The Notebook**

"Really Dimitri? A chick flick?" Adept asked him as he took the spot next to Cyan.

"My dad picked it!" Hades defended himself.

"Leave it to Uncle Hai…" Adept muttered. "Hey Aphrodite, come sit down," he looked over at me and patted the spot next to him. I grimaced and walked over, placing the bowls and utensils down on the coffee table.

"Alright, food!" Hurtle said happily, reaching over for a bowl. Hades passed everyone a bowl and the utensils. Soon everyone was picking at the food to get their serving.

Hurtle must have noticed my discomfort. "Hey Aph, come sit with me!" he grinned, scooting over in his bean bag.

"That seems impractical," Adept frowned.

"Oh let her," Cyan chimed in, actually agreeing with Hurtle.

"But there's more room on the couch," Adept pointed out.

"She's going to bawl her eyes out during the movie," Hurtle mentioned and I felt my face turn red, "I don't think you can handle two sobbing girls," he joked.

"Hey! I do NOT sob during chick flicks," Cyan got defensive.

"Well then, I guess Oliver can take care of Stella for me," Hurtle teased. Now he was just doing this to annoy Cyan.

"On second thought…" Cyan began and that was enough for me to stand up. However, I was stopped by Adept.

"It's fine, just sit down _Stella_," he said my name for the first time. It was weird hearing them call me that. "She worked hard on our food – thanks by the way – so just let her sit on the couch," Adept said, and I sat back down. Cyan didn't look too happy.

"Alright then, I'm starting the movie," Hurtle said as he reached for the remote.

"Don't worry, I'll let you cry on my shoulder," Adept joked, giving his shoulder a pat. I had an ominous feeling after he said that. This was going to be a _long _movie.

I brought my knees to my chest and hugged them when it got to the scene after the movie date. As soon as Allie and Noah started dancing, my eyes lit up at how romantic this was. I felt a pair of eyes on me and turned to my left. Adept gave me a glance and smirked. He was probably amused by how I was acting, I quickly looked away and buried my face in my knees. He let out a small chuckle and I could hear Cyan whispering, "What's so funny?" He just shook his head and she shrugged.

"_If you're a bird, I'm a bird," Noah said as he held Allie in his arms._

I tried my best not to squeal at how cute it was. I was seventeen, and I have never been in a relationship before. I could only imagine the cute things that happened in one. I bet that's why Cyan was pretty clingy with Adept. I shivered at that thought. '_I hope I don't end up like that_,' I thought to myself. No offense to Cyan. I just didn't want to be one of _those_ girls.

Adept must have noticed my shiver, because he leaned over and whispered, "Cold?" I wasn't actually cold.

Before I could answer, Cyan repositioned herself so she laid her head on his lap and curled up. '_Oh goodness, someone help me_,' I could feel the goosebumps. I was feeling even more awkward than before. I nodded in response, "Be right back, I'm going to grab a blanket," I said, leaving the couch. It was an easy excuse to leave.

When I came back, Cyan was sitting upright once more. "Damn, he's hot," Cyan had muttered and I looked at the screen to see what was going on. My face paled when I saw the actor and actress stripping in what looked to be like an abandoned house.

I took my seat again and wrapped myself in the blanket. Cyan had latched herself onto Adept's left arm, but Adept was trying not to make me feel awkward by keeping some distance from Cyan. '_Curse Hades's dad for choosing this movie_,' I groaned internally. This wasn't exactly how I wanted to get to know my teammates. Maybe if it was a comedy, it would have been better. I had to admit though, the actor had a nice body. '_This isn't the time to be thinking about that!_' I told myself and just wrapped myself tighter in my blanket.

"I want a house by the river…" Cyan whispered to Adept. Now I was wishing I didn't come back. Maybe I should have taken Hurtle's offer of sharing the bean bag. I felt like a third wheel.

"Damn, she talks too much," Hurtle muttered as the scene advanced. For a sex scene, it was really awkward to watch.

"Is this what your dad watched when he was younger?" Hurtle asked Hades, only to be shushed by Cyan.

"Be quiet, we're watching a movie!" she complained. I guess she was really into it. That only made me feel worse.

"Oh my god woman, just sleep with him!" Hurtle ignored Cyan as he clutched his head in his hands and groaned. This movie was a bit too painful for him.

"Maybe we should do something else…" Hades spoke up. I could tell that he was feeling uncomfortable too.

"What no—," Cyan protested.

"Sounds like a good idea," Adept agreed. I sighed in relief. "Besides, Stella over here is shivering like crazy," he added. I froze, was I that obvious? If only they knew I was shivering for different reasons.

Hurtle paused the movie once the characters started to confess their love for one another. Cyan pouted and removed herself from Adept's arm when Hurtle turned on the lights. I squinted as my eyes tried to readjust to the light.

I left the couch and started to clean up all the empty bowls and utensils. Hades also left his seat and began to help me.

"Thanks guys," Adept said, stretching from his seat. "Why don't we just sit and talk," he suggested. Hades took the stuff from me and walked towards the kitchen.

"Sounds like a good plan," I agreed, willing to do anything but watch that movie. How old was that thing anyways?

We waited for Hades to join us again. There was an awkward silence as no one wanted to start talking.

"I guess we can start by formally introducing ourselves," Adept said.

"We're not in grade school," Cyan retorted. We kind of knew who each other were, but I guess I never actually introduced myself. I didn't even know what Cyan's name was.

"I'm Oliver Larsson, also known as Adept," Adept began his introduction, "and my parents were known as Rekkles and Deft." He looked over at Cyan when he finished and she just rolled her eyes.

"Alright then, I'm Azura Happonen or Cyan. My parents were known as xPeke and Cyanide, hence the summoner name," Cyan introduced herself.

"Jasper Tran, son of the hamster and turtle," Hurtle said, "for those of you who don't know who they are – Xpecial and WildTurtle."

"Ohh, so that's how you got Hurtle," Cyan spoke, "No offense, but I thought it was a stupid sounding name," she added as an afterthought. I glared at Hurtle who gave me an innocent look. I knew what he was thinking of, and I dared him to say it.

"None taken," he said dryly. I gave him a smile. Things could have gotten worse.

"Dimitri Bae or Hades," Hades introduced. It was very like him to keep things short and simple. "My parents are Hai – the person who chose the movie – and Dade."

"I'm Stella Black, also known as Aphrodite," I said when it was my turn, "and my parents are Aphromoo and Doublelift."

"Isn't Doublelift the one—" Cyan began, but stopped when Adept gave her a look. I grimaced. Of course they probably knew since all of them had parents who were in the scene. What was the likelihood of that? That every single one of us had retired pros as parents. '_Stupid land of all the retired pros,_' I cursed in my mind.

"Now that everyone has been introduced," Hurtle spoke up, probably trying to change the subject in my defense. "Welcome to AA – also known as Alcoholics Anonymous," Hurtle joked.

"Oh ha ha," Cyan said sarcastically. I smiled in relief, glad that we were no longer talking about my parents.

"Thanks for volunteering, _Azura_," Hurtle smirked, "do share, why are you here today? Don't worry, this is a safe environment."

"Stupid," Cyan said under her breath.

'_This is what happens when five random teens meet each other_,' I thought to myself. It was a lot easier for us to converse online where our faces remained hidden. There was some more silence between us.

"Where did you learn to cook?" Adept asked me, moving on from the AA joke.

"O-oh uhm."

"Aph's been cooking since forever," Hurtle grinned, joining in on the conversation. "Well at least for as long as I've known her," he said.

"The food was good," Hades nodded.

"It was alright," Cyan added.

"Thanks?" I wasn't sure how to respond. I wasn't expecting our topic of interest to be… well me.

"Too bad Cyan can't cook as well," Adept teased his childhood friend. She swatted his arm and pouted.

"I can cook just as well!" Cyan complained.

"Oh you wish Cy," Adept petted her and she looked flustered. She crossed her arms and looked away from him.

"Get a room," Hurtle interjected, rolling his eyes. Cyan's face turned red at this.

"Aw, do we need a room Cy?" Adept continued to tease.

"Stella, you should give me the dumpling recipe," Hades cut in before Cyan could retort. He probably sensed that this conversation was about to take an awkward turn. I could live without hearing about their love life.

"Sure Dimitri," I smiled.

"Oh man, this means we'll have good food once we start living together," Adept said happily.

"L-living together?" I questioned him.

"Well yeah. If we get into the LCS, it's only natural that we'll start living together," Adept said nonchalantly. "Though maybe we should start when we get into the Challenger scene," Adept suggested.

"This way we get a head-start. Since all of our parents were former professionals anyways, I think they'll agree to getting us at least a gaming apartment," Adept added. "And when we get into LCS we can move to an actual gaming house," he grinned. He looked excited. I could tell he had a lot of hope for our team.

"But we have to make it there first," Cyan said, though she didn't look too opposed to the idea of all of us living all together.

"B-but we're all still in school!" I pointed out. It made no sense for us to live together when we were all still in secondary school.

"Right…" Adept frowned.

"I'm sure we'll find a way," Cyan said. She was really for this gaming apartment thing. Hurtle just shrugged at the idea.

"Whatever works," he said. Either way he was going to end up living with his teammates, whether it be us or the team in Korea.

"We should talk to our parents about this," Hades said. If this was going to work, we needed the help from our parents. None of us had jobs anyways, so without parental support, we wouldn't be able to.

"Maybe we're thinking about things too quickly," I tried to reason.

"We should at least have a plan," Adept said. "We need to make sure that Jasper and Azura don't kill each other," he smirked. "Maybe we should have them share a room," he suggested.

"Over my dead body!" Azura growled.

"Just kidding Cy," he laughed at her reaction, "You'd obviously share a room with Stella here," he said looking over at me.

I saw Cy frowning. "M-maybe you and Cyan should share a room?" I squeaked. I don't know if it would be a good idea since they were together.

"Don't be silly, I don't think our parents would agree to that," he quirked an eyebrow.

"Our parents wouldn't mind!" Cyan refuted.

"Probably not, but still. That'd be super awkward for everyone else," Adept stated. "We also wouldn't want them to misunderstand anything."

"It's fine, we know you guys are dating," Hurtle shrugged like it was no big deal. Adept's eyes widened.

"You guys think that Cy and I are dating?" he asked. I nodded. I mean, it was obvious. Adept started laughing hard. I looked at Hades who had a small amused smile on his face then at Cyan who was blushing madly.

"D-dating?" she stuttered.

"Yeah I know right?" Adept said, straightening his posture. "We're not dating," Adept told us, "she's like a sister to me. We've known each other since literally forever."

I don't think anyone else noticed, but there was a small frown on Cyan's face. It didn't seem like the feelings were mutual.

"I mean if anything, it'd be you two sharing a room, right?" Adept inquired.

Hurtle looked at me and grinned. "Yeah Aph, let's room together," he agreed with Adept.

"I'd rather room with Hades," I joked. Hurtle placed his hands on his heart and gasped.

"I'm hurt that you'd choose Hades over your best friend!" he said dramatically.

"Best friend?" Adept repeated.

"Best friends forever and ever and ever," Hurtle corrected him.

"That's a very long time," I commented.

"Aw, you know you love me Stellz."

* * *

><p>1124/14


	12. Stories

_Disclaimer: _League of Legends belongs to Riot

* * *

><p>We spent the next hour asking each other simple questions about our likes, dislikes, fears and hobbies.<p>

I found out that Cyan was really into everything Japanese. Adept told us that he never understands what she's saying because she likes to blurt out random Japanese sayings. Hurtle of course made a joke about that being the cause of our communication problems – which of course wasn't received well by Cyan (I really need to give him a long talk about his lack of self-control.)

After that, Cyan wasn't really willing to share more about herself. Her answers were one to three word phrases. It was obvious that it was going to be a long time before she truly accepted us – even Hades. Although she was a little nicer to him, it was probably because Adept and Hades were really good friends. It was fairly obvious that the only one she got along with was Adept, hence why Hurtle and I could have sworn that they were dating (we were surprisingly proven wrong).

Then there was Hades.

Hades was really interested in learning languages. He was currently teaching himself Latin, but he already knew how to speak English, German, Korean, Vietnamese and French. He spent most of his life being home-schooled until he moved to Germany. He had actually moved to Germany only a year ago when his parents finally felt like it was time to settle down, but before that, his parents hopped from country to country because Hai really wanted to travel. He also thought it would be a good idea to expose Hades to different cultures. Despite knowing all of these different languages, Hades was still really quiet. He told us it was because he preferred not to say more than he needed to and would rather observe his surroundings.

He confessed that the reason for his behavior stemmed from moving around so much. It was tiring for him to make new friends and then just leave them. Therefore his need to make friends with kids in the neighborhood died down. Plus, he was already identified as _different_ since he was home-schooled.

"The other kids already had friends from previous years, or just friends they knew at school," Hades shrugged. It was always hard to be the new kid. I moved and changed schools near the end of my first year in secondary school.

Then his parents finally promised him that they weren't going to move anymore, and that they were going to enroll him in public school. That was when he decided it was time for him to try. That's when Adept became his first and closest friend. My eyes watered when he told us his story. It was super cool how he was able to travel, but really sad and touching when he told us how his social life was affected by it.

"Oliver showed me what a friendship was really supposed to be like," Hades said, with a small smile on his face. He looked over to Adept, "Thanks." I felt my heart break. I was really happy that Hades was willing to share this with us. Even Cyan looked a little touched. I glanced over at Hurtle. He showed no emotion on his face. I hope there wasn't something wrong.

After Hades finished, it was Hurtle's turn.

He started off by telling everyone that he grew up living and breathing League (Cyan wasn't surprised). His parents were still avid gamers and it was only natural that he grew up to love games as well. I gave him a worried look, which he returned with a smile. I could've sworn there was something wrong. Then he gave everyone a general description of his likes and dislikes. He made an emphasis on his dislike for chick flicks. He gave us a basic run down on his life, then things took a turn.

He said it was now going to be real talk. What he decided to share with the rest of the group really surprised me. He talked about his parents' divorce and how badly it had affected him.

"This happened about two years after Aph moved into the area," Hurtle said. Everyone was looking at him intently, even Cyan wasn't making her remarks.

"My parents were arguing on who was going to keep me," he grimaced. "Not in the way that they didn't want me, mind you," he added to clarify.

"Every day after school, I would go to Aph's place because I didn't want to be home when my parents were talking about what was going to happen," he told them. "Now that I think about it – I was trying to run away from the situation," he said truthfully.

I stared at the floor. I remember that time like it only happened yesterday. His parents divorce, in a way, helped bring us closer… I finally knew what I was going to tell everyone. Maybe what Hurtle said earlier had some truth. This was a safe environment for everyone to let things out.

We were all trying to get to know each other, and to form a trust that we clearly didn't have in game. Hades confessing his struggles as a child definitely sparked something in Hurtle. A small smile formed on my face and I looked up at Hurtle to give him reassurance.

"That's when Aph decided to start playing League with me," he shot me a grateful look. I felt everyone's eyes glance over to me, but I just kept looking toward my best friend. This was his story, not mine.

"She actually promised me that she would make sure that she was the only support I'll ever need," Hurtle grinned and I covered my face with my hands. We were young and he was going through a difficult time!

"That's so cheesy," Adept commented, and I moved my fingers apart so I could see through them.

"Yeah," Hurtle agreed. '_Thanks Hurtle_,' I thought. If we weren't sitting in this serious environment, I'd be staring daggers at him for revealing this personal piece of information.

"I knew she wasn't being completely serious though," Hurtle added, "she never wanted to turn professional like me."

"But she forced herself to play a game that she hated in order to help distract me," Hurtle continued.

"I didn't force myself," I spoke up. It was true that I hated the game at the time, but I didn't force myself to play it. I chose to play it.

"She's too nice," Hurtle teased me.

"Too bad you bring out the worse in me," I joked.

"Yeah! You can't imagine how many times I've been threatened—"

"Anyways, go on," I cut him off. He gave me a playful smile.

"I didn't understand why my parents were splitting," Hurtle looked away from me. I already knew the story, he didn't have to tell me it again.

"I became angry all the time," Hurtle admitted, "the only time I was okay was when I was playing League."

"It really helped me… grow up, I guess," Hurtle shrugged at the last part. "My parents did their best to make it seem like things were going to be okay." Uncle Xpecial and Turtle tried their best to resolve their differences, but in the end they knew it would be better for them to separate. They held a great amount of concern for their son. Even though they thought it would be best for Uncle Xpecial to take him, they didn't want to drastically change his life by making him move cities. However, Uncle Turtle had a lot of growing up to do in order to take care of his teenage son.

"It took me a long time to realize that my parents were doing their best to make me happy," Hurtle stated. "Aph, actually, helped me realize that and...," he said, looking at me once more. I shrugged. It was the least I could do. He was my best friend after all.

"I think that, without her support, I probably would have gone into depression," he looked away from the group when he mentioned that. "I had thoughts of running away from home, I thought that my parents didn't love me, that they didn't want me, that maybe I was a mistake?" he said with a pained voice. He told me his feelings before in the past and I tried my best to reassure him that everything he thought was wrong.

"Things are better now though," Hurtle looked back at the group with a huge grin on his face. "Even though they'll no longer be together, they still put the effort to work together to raise me. That's why I'm going to be the best pro player out there," he said ambitiously. I saw Cyan roll her eyes, but she didn't say anything.

"That's why…" he started, giving the team a more serious look, "I'm giving this team two months," he informed them. I saw the confused looks on everyone's face. I already knew that Hurtle may or may not stay with us.

"I told Adept before I joined the team that I had an offer from Korea," he said and Adept nodded to confirm. "And I have until after Worlds to decide whether or not I'll join them," Hurtle continued. "Besides you guys already know that I want to be the best, and I'm not going to decline their offer unless I know that I can get there with you guys," Hurtle then looked at Cyan. She locked eyes with him.

"I'll still make fun of you though," Hurtle shrugged, he was directly talking to her now.

"As if I'd ever back down," Cyan smirked. I'm not sure of exactly what was going on, but it seemed like they had come to some kind of agreement.

"Alright, well I'm done with my story," Hurtle said, stretching his arms in the air. "Who's next?" Hurtle asked aloud. "Aph," he nominated and I nodded.

"I guess I'll start with the basics," I muttered, trying to think of my interests. I told them about how I enjoyed cooking and baking. Hurtle said that was one of the reasons why he was always over.

"I'm not very interesting," I said embarrassed. It was hard thinking about myself.

"Aph likes to read a lot," Hurtle mentioned.

"Ah, yeah. Though I haven't been able to read much lately," I said with an accusing tone. Hurtle just chuckled, knowing that it was his fault. After this, things went by easier for me. Then like Hurtle, I got to the end of my spiel and it was time for me to share something personal.

I thought back to the beginning of the week. "I love the rain," I started, more of an afterthought than anything. "When I was younger, the rain felt like the only thing I could relate to," I mumbled the last part, moving my gaze away from everyone not looking at anyone.

"Cyan brought this up earlier," I mention, giving her a quick glance. She had a slight guilty expression, but that disappeared instantly. "The affair between my father and Madlife was brought to light," I said slowly.

"You don't have to talk about this," Hurtle interrupted me. I know he wasn't trying to be rude.

"It's okay, I want to," I gave him a reassuring nod. He had a grim smile on his face, but he didn't say anything after that.

"It was about five years ago." I stared in front of me, not at anything or anyone in particular. I still wasn't completely comfortable talking about it, but I felt like it was my greatest struggle. I could have easily gone with a lighter topic, but Hades and Hurtle definitely set the mood for this.

"Aphromoo and I already knew about his affair before he came back from Korea," I told them. Before Doublelift came home, Aphromoo reassured me that things would be alright. I was young and so confused. I didn't understand why people were saying bad things about my father.

"Aphromoo confronted him about it a couple of days after," I closed my eyes, thinking back to that time. My parents both thought I was asleep, but they didn't realize that I woke up from the first shout. I remember standing at the top of the stairs, holding the railings, and listening to their screams.

"It was the first time that I heard my parents fighting," I continued, opening my eyes once more. "The next morning, Aphromoo told me that things would be okay, but that didn't stop me from waking up everyday to find Doublelift sleeping on the living room couch. After I saw him, I would go back to bed as if nothing ever happened," I stated. "Then Aphromoo would come wake me up, and they would act like everything was the same," I grimaced.

"They didn't know that I _knew_ until one day Aphromoo saw me in the living room," I gazed down, suddenly interested in the floor. "He asked me how long I knew," I bit my lip. I remember being scared because I thought that he was mad at me for knowing. But he did what Aphromoo always did and reassured me that everything was fine. He brought me back to my room and we sat down and talked.

"I told him that I heard them fighting." I felt a blanket draped around my shoulders and I looked up. Hurtle had moved from his seat and was now sitting next to me. I smiled at him.

"Aphromoo forgave him after two months, but I couldn't," I muttered.

"There were too many people who knew about it. The kids at my school knew about it," I glanced up. Hades had a solemn look on his face.

"It got pretty bad – I had to change schools," I told them. I didn't even trust Hurtle completely when I moved. But he eventually earned it. He was always able to direct the attention to himself so I wouldn't have to say anything. People thought he was full of himself, but he was really doing it for my own sake.

"There was an enormous amount of tension between me and Doublelift for the next five years," I confessed, "But things are a lot better now. I'll be honest, I didn't want to play League because of the affair."

"Yet here I am," I smiled.

"Yeah, Aph's finally accepting her destiny," Hurtle chuckled.

"Couldn't keep away from us," Adept joked.

"If I remember correctly, you're the one who couldn't keep away from her," Hurtle smirked and Adept blushed.

"She was a good support!" Adept said in his defense.

"What is he talking about?" Cyan asked him curiously, but her eyes had narrowed.

"Just saying he's the one who added Aph in the first place," Hurtle explained.

"Yeah, but Hades is the one who plays with her the most!" Adept retorted. Hades shrugged.

"You're too busy playing with Azura," Hades pointed out.

"There's nothing wrong with us duoing!" Cyan responded. "Besides, she plays with Hades because you always solo queue!"

"She's right you know," I piped in, looking at my best friend. "I was neglected and Hades came to my aid!" I mocked.

As this conversation continued, we spent the time throwing insults and a lot of harmless teasing. It finally felt like we were actually going to get along now.

Afterwards, we took a short break. We had been sitting for such a long time that some of us needed to stretch. Hurtle was in the kitchen washing the dishes with Hades while Cyan was sprawled on the couch. Adept was nervously pacing in the hallway.

* * *

><p>Once I finished talking about myself, Cyan spoke up and offered to share a story of her own. It was a big surprise for everyone, but she thought it would only be fair to share hers since everyone shared something personal about themselves. We were going to continue with her after our break. Then it would finally be our team captain's turn to share. Even though I've played a few games with Adept, he and Cyan were the two that I knew the least.<p>

I looked at Cyan who had her eyes closed. She was probably tired. I rose from my spot on the floor and walked out into the hallway where Adept was still pacing.

"Something on your mind?" I asked him. I saw him jump a little. "Sorry," I apologized. I didn't mean to startle him.

"No it's fine," he reassured me. "I was just thinking," he admitted.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I inquired and he gave me a smile.

"What, my thoughts are only worth a penny?" he joked with me.

"You're right, that's too much," I teased him. He gasped dramatically. Then there was silence between the two of us. It got awkward real fast. I was interested in the pictures on the walls while he was interested in something on the floor.

"Thanks for sharing earlier," Adept finally spoke. I glanced at him and saw that he was looking back at me.

"Oh, no problem. I just felt like it was the right thing to do after hearing what Hades had to say and after rehearing Hurtle's story," I told him.

"Yeah. It's quite interesting," he murmured, looking off to the side.

"Hm?" I was a little confused. "What's interesting?"

"That everyone has 'a story'" he made air quotes. "Like I wouldn't have known that you guys had your share of problems by just looking at you, or from playing a game of League with you," he explained to me.

"Isn't that why a lot of people play games?" I asked. He looked back at me.

"What do you mean?"

"Well I'm obviously not talking about everyone," I started my explanation, "But there are people who play games because it's like being in a different world, right?"

"I think I see where you're going with this," Adept answered truthfully. "But then aren't they just running away from their problems?"

"I don't think so," I immediately said. Of course it definitely seemed that way, but I feel like there's more to the individual's story.

"Then what?"

"I think… playing games gives people more time," I bit my lip. This wasn't easy for me to explain. "It gives people a support system until they're ready to deal with their problems."

"_Yes_, toxic games are _really_ supportive," Adept quirked an eyebrow.

"It distracts them from their problems though. By giving them a problem to deal with in game," I shrugged. I wasn't sure where I was going with this.

"Oh hey you guys," Hurtle said, leaving the kitchen with Hades. Hurtle looked slightly amused, but I ignored him. I guess they finished cleaning the dishes. I glanced at Adept. He still looked a little troubled.

"We should go back to the living room," I said before I left. The boys followed me. Cyan was still laying on the couch. Adept walked over to her.

"Wake up Cy," Adept gently shook her.

"Five more minutes," she mumbled, not bothering to open her eyes.

"That's like the most overused line ever," Adept scoffed. Cyan pouted and rose her arms into the air. Adept shook his head before he grabbed her hands and pulled her up.

Soon we were all back in our original seats with everyone now attentively looking at Cyan. She brushed her bangs to the side and stifled a yawn.

"So I'll tell you guys a story. Once upon a time there was a pretty little girl…" she began. I looked at Hurtle who was rolling his eyes. I quietly giggled and snuggled into my blanket.

"She grew up with high expectation parents," Cyan continued on, her expression turned a little gloomy. "She lived by a schedule. Breakfast. School. Piano. Art class. Dinner. Homework. Sleep."

"The only thing she looked forward to were the weekends," Cyan looked over at Adept and they shared a mutual smile. "Those were the days where she was able to play with the boy next door, where her only expectations were to have fun."

"Then one day, she found out the consequences of not meeting expectations…" Cyan trailed off. I brought my knees to my chest and hugged them. I noticed that Hurtle was also listening intently to the story.

"It meant more restrictions and soon she didn't have anything to look forward to," she frowned when she said that. "Then one day, she heard something at her window. She ignored it, until she heard it again." I blinked a several times. I felt a little drowsy. It was almost like I was being read a bed time story.

"It turns out that the boy next door was throwing marbles at her window," Cyan smirked. "They talked until it was midnight. This continued on for months."

"Then one weekend, the girl told the boy that she wished she could fly. He asked her why, and she said it was so she could come over and play," Cyan had a smile on her face, "So he told her, why don't you jump? She thought he was stupid, but then he promised her that he'd catch her… so then she jumped. From that day on she had her weekends to look forward to again."

"That's soo cute!" I squealed, clasping my hands together. Cyan blushed and scratched the back of her head. "That promise was so romantic," I sighed, glad that the story ended well.

"What can I say, I'm pretty romantic," Adept joked. This made Cyan turn even redder.

"Ugh, I don't know what was cheesier. That chick flick or this story," Hurtle groaned, collapsing to the ground. Cyan rolled her eyes.

"It's alright now. My parents learned later to give me some independence. They didn't want me playing games since they spent so much time doing it, but now they don't mind," Cyan shrugged.

"Do you still play the piano?" I asked her. She just shrugged in response.

"She doesn't play anymore," Adept told me, "she spends too much time at my place now anyways," he added.

"That's because you're too chicken to jump to my room," Cyan retorted.

"Maybe if I had a death wish," Adept rose an eyebrow, "I doubt I'd fit through your window anyways."

"Of course you would!"

"Why do that when I can... just walk through your front door," Adept inquired.

"It's less romantic," Hurtle snickered.

"See, even Hurtle knows," Cyan mumbled, crossing her arms.

Somewhere along their teasing, I felt my eyes getting heavier. I pulled on my blanket so it wrapped around me tighter.

"Oliver, it's your turn," Hades said. Adept froze for a moment.

"Right," Adept murmured. I released a small yawn.

The last thing I saw was the troubled look on our captain's face.

* * *

><p>1128/14


	13. Burnt Out

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

* * *

><p>I rolled to my side and hugged my pillow. I rubbed my face against it as I slowly regained conscious. My pillow was a lot fluffier than I remembered. I tried to open one of my eyes, but I was immediately blinded by the light. Groaning, I closed my eye once more and decided that I wasn't ready to wake up.<p>

"Gee Aph, and you call me lazy," I heard a voice speaking to me.

'_Huh? Who's in my room?_'

"C'mon," said the voice. I felt a hand on top of my blanket. Soon my body was rocking back and forth as the familiar voice tried to shake me awake. In response to this disturbance, I removed the pillow from under my head and swung it at whoever was trying to wake me up.

"Hey! That was uncalled for!" the voice complained. '_Wait. That sounds just like…_'

"Hurtle?" I asked.

"Yeah it's me," he confirmed. "Tsh. I let you sleep on my bed and this is how you treat me?!"

"Wah—?" I opened my eyes. '_What is he talking about?_'

I stared at the blue walls, confused. My room was purple. I blinked a couple of times, hoping to see the wall change colors. It didn't.

Once I realized that I wasn't in my room, I lunged forward and sat up. I looked at Hurtle who was in his PJs and then looked down to see that I was still wearing the same clothes I wore yesterday.

"Why am I here?" I asked him, trying to put the pieces together. Yesterday was the day we met up with the trio.

"We were sharing stories and you fell asleep," Hurtle informed me. "You were still asleep when everyone left – they said bye, by the way – and then I told your parents that you were going to sleep over."

"Then being the best, best friend that I am, I carried you upstairs, gave you my bed and slept on the couch," Hurtle said valiantly.

"I'm sorry!" I squeaked, embarrassed that I fell asleep during the conversation. I remember listening to Cyan tell us her story, and it made me so sleepy!

"Oh gosh. I need to apologize them," I said, throwing the blanket off of me.

"Whoa, hold it tiger," Hurtle stopped me from getting up. "It's alright. They said it was fine since you were probably tired from cooking and stuff."

"But still," I pouted, "I totally missed out on Adept's story!"

Hurtle chuckled, "Oh man you did. He was a little butt hurt that you fell asleep before he could start."

"That's exactly why I have to apologize!"

"Don't worry about it, Aph. He said that you could pay him back some other time for that," Hurtle smirked. I groaned.

"Looks like you're going to have to solo bot lane from now on," I sighed.

"Don't even think about it," Hurtle warned me. My face broke into a smile.

"Anyways, what did I miss?" I asked him.

"Everyone found out that you're the hugging type – including me," Hurtle said ambiguously. I stared at him.

"What do you mean…?" I asked slowly. I don't recall hugging anyone.

"Well, they thought it would be a good idea to move you to the couch so you wouldn't have to sleep on the cold floor," Hurtle began, "so Hades tried to carry you, bridal-style and all."

I felt my cheeks get warm. I hope I wasn't too heavy for him… I ate a lot of dumplings yesterday!

"But once he tried to put you down on the couch, you wouldn't let go of him," Hurtle smirked. I looked at him mortified.

"Oh goodness, I let go of him eventually… right?" I was secretly praying that I did.

"You put him in a pretty uncomfortable position," Hurtle told me truthfully.

I bent my knees and buried my face in them. I could imagine Hades hunched over on the couch with my arms around his neck.

"Adept managed to pry your hands off of him," Hurtle continued to tease. "But then you grabbed his hand."

I closed my eyes as Hurtle told me what happened. This was way too embarrassing.

"Cyan wasn't very happy with that," Hurtle smirked, "not that Adept noticed, anyways. Man he's as thick as a brick."

I nodded. It was true. We all saw how Cyan looked at him, but then he announced that she was like a sister to him… That idiot.

"Oh yeah, I have a picture of Hades carrying you," Hurtle said, pulling out his phone.

"Delete it," I said without looking up.

"It's kind of cute," Hurtle ignored me. I removed my face from the blanket and glared at him. In moments he was showing me the picture. I felt the corner of my eye twitch when I saw myself snuggling Hades. I looked pretty comfortable and Hades looked extremely embarrassed.

"Delete it," I repeated. Hurtle just grinned at me.

"I wonder what would happen if your parents saw this," he said in a jokingly, but threatening tone.

"I'll never be able to play League again?"

"Okay, picture being deleted," Hurtle turned his phone away from me. I watched him press a few buttons before putting his phone away. "Anyways, breakfast?" Hurtle asked me.

I opened my mouth to answer him, but my stomach beat me to the punch. Hurtle just laughed at me.

* * *

><p>"<em>Hey<em>," Adept messaged me.

"_SORRY_," I apologized. After I had breakfast at Hurtle's, I walked home. My parents (mainly Aphromoo) bombarded me with questions about my first they were worried, but then I told them who their parents were and they felt more relaxed about meetup. Go figure.

"_No. I'm sorry, for being so boring that you'd fall asleep on me,_" Adept messaged, sounding a bit bitter.

"_Oh. Right that, apology accepted,_" I typed back.

"_That's not what you're supposed to say!_" Adept complained. I smirked at his reaction.

"_I only confirmed what you admitted,_" I replied innocently. If he was going to tease me, I wasn't just going to sit here and let him.

"_I think I like it better when you're sleeping_," Adept shot back. I groaned when he reminded me of what had happened last night.

"_Me too. Sleep's more interesting than you._"I rose an eyebrow as I glanced at our conversation. '_Geez, I'm being so sassy_," I noticed.

"_I'm going to go cry in a corner now, thanks_," Adept replied dramatically. I giggled a little at this.

"_Aww, don't be that way_," I felt a pout on my face. "_You're not that boring,_" I added.

"_:[_" was the only thing he said after.

"_Hurtle was right, you're so butt hurt_," I rolled my eyes.

"_Am not!_" Adept immediately responded. Before I continued teasing him, he changed the conversation.

"_Want to play a game?_" he asked me. I looked at my friend's list and didn't see the usual gang online.

"_Sure, mode?_" I asked.

"_Your choice_," he told me. A small grin formed on my face.

"_Cool, I'll invite you_," I told him. I hit the **Play** button in the middle of the client.

**PVP Classic Twisted Treeline 3v3 Normal Blind Pick I will invite my own teammates**

'_He did say I could choose anything,_' I thought as I sent him the invite.

"_Hurtle warned me about this…_" Adept remarked before joining. Of course Hurtle would tell him.

"_You guys seem close_," I commented.

"_Yeah, watch out. I'm going to steal your best friend_," Adept joked. I kicked him out of the lobby. "_I was kidding!_" he said as I invited him again. "_So harsh_." He joined once more before inviting me into a call.

"Maybe I was kidding," was the first thing Adept said to me when I joined the call.

"It's fine, I'm already slowly stealing Hades," I shrugged.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't recall agreeing to this trade," Adept disapproved.

"Oh, don't you remember? It was our agreement for when I joined the team," I said nonchalantly.

"…"

"…"

"Okay, I've got nothing," Adept gave up. We got into champion select.

"So who's good in this mode?" he asked.

"Bruisers are good. I generally play with one mage bottom lane," I informed him. Our random locked in Annie. I hovered over my champions before locking in Lee Sin. "I'll jungle, you can play top."

"_Wow, thanks for the invite,_" Hurtle messaged me.

"_Too bad, it's your favorite mode too,_" I typed back.

"_Poor Adept._"

"Tch. Hurtle is on," I stated and immediately we were kicked from team select. I returned to the lobby by myself. "So excited to see Hurtle, eh?" I rose an eyebrow.

"_Adept dodged for you_," I told Hurtle.

"He told me to do it!" Adept ratted him out. Hurtle joined the call at that moment.

"It's because he didn't want to play Twisted Treeline," Hurtle stated.

"You guys hurt my feelings," I sniffed.

"Damn Adept. Look at what you did, asshole," Hurtle joked.

"You guys can go play your stupid game modes," I whined, trying my best to sound hurt.

"S-sorry. WE CAN PLAY TWISTED TREELINE," Adept quickly shouted.

"Nah, your reaction was enough," I shrugged. Hurtle just laughed at him.

"That's messed up," Adept complained, "I was actually concerned."

"So where's everyone else?" I asked Adept.

"Cyan said something about the next episode of her anime and that she would play with me right after," Adept said, "She's watching something call EMRD… whatever that is."

"Never heard of it," Hurtle shrugged.

"And Hades is babysitting," Adept added.

"Babysitting? I can't imagine him babysitting," I said truthfully.

"Yeah… not really babysitting I guess. They're only like two years younger than us, but he's looking after the Park twins," Adept continued.

"Wait, as in Abigail and Dustin?" I wondered.

"Oh so you know them?" Adept asked.

"Yeah, I met them at a reunion," I grinned. Little Abigail must be really happy. I thought back to the time we caught her staring at Hades.

"I don't remember them," Hurtle chimed in. I rolled my eyes.

"You met them for a little bit, but then you were too busy networking," I remembered. "But if I recall correctly, Abigail was crushing so hard on Hades."

"So it's true," Adept said a little surprised, "I thought Hades was just kidding when he said there was a girl who wouldn't leave him alone."

"She just likes him a lot!" I defended Abigail.

"Hades isn't very good with girls," Adept remarked.

"You're not very good with girls either," Hurtle muttered and nodded. I had immediately thought about Cyan. I wasn't sure how someone could be so oblivious.

"Hey! I resent that. You're one to talk. You're not good with… Cyan!" Adept retorted. He wasn't exactly either.

"That's because she's more demon than she is a girl," Hurtle ranted.

"Yeah, that's only because she doesn't really like you," Adept laughed, "But don't worry, she has a soft side."

"I'm not getting baited," Hurtle warned him.

"Guys?" I asked, trying to get their attention.

"What's up Aph?" Hurtle acknowledged me.

"Can we get into queue before you guys start bantering? I know how you both love Cyan so much and all, but I kind of want to play a game," I commented, feeling a bit impatient.

"Gross Aph," Hurtle responded before inviting me to a normal game. I frowned, but accepted anyways. Then the two of them started to bicker some more.

_Sigh_.

* * *

><p>I furrowed my eyebrows when the enemy Zac came in for a lane gank. I didn't see him come into lane, but he ended up stepping outside the brush when he began charging his "Elastic Slingshot". The enemy top laner, Renekton quickly used his "Slice and Dice" to dash towards me. In response, I used my "Broken Wings" actives to dash towards my turret. The enemy Zac came flying towards me. I flashed away from his landing and used "Valor" to dash away from his "Stretching Strike".<p>

I had successfully escaped but for the cost of my summoner spell.

"Man, playing top is hard," I complained as I walked around my turret, waiting for Zac to leave.

"I've never seen you play Riven before," Hurtle commented.

"I have!" I retorted.

"Oh?"

"… in Dominion," I answered.

"Aph, that game mode doesn't count. That's like the mode you play when you're waiting for me to come online and don't want to get into an actual game," Hurtle said with slight sarcasm.

"Dominion is fun!" I argued.

"Next you're going to tell me that ARAM is fun," Hurtle laughed.

"I play ARAM games sometimes," Adept jumped in. I quirked an eyebrow.

"Sorry, but ARAM isn't fun," I said, shaking my head. "But do you know what game mode _is_?" I asked them. I knew what Hurtle's answer was going to be before he even opened his mouth.

"Aph, don't even."

"Zac is bottom by the way," I ignored Hurtle. I was back in base buying a ward when I saw the enemy Zac show up in bottom lane.

"Oh shit–" Hurtle cursed, forgetting to pay attention to the game. His poor support died trying to save him. I just shook my head.

I got back into lane and placed my pink in the river before going back to my lane to CS. Renekton walked back in lane and we spent the rest of the time up top CSing and trading. Top lane wasn't too exciting of a lane in my opinion. Jungle ganks from both sides only led to our summoners being blown, but no deaths/kills were exchanged. That was until the enemy Syndra appeared in my lane.

"Thanks for the warning," I muttered sarcastically when I got caught in two stuns and Syndra blew her combo on me, resulting in my first death.

"Oh shoot, sorry," Adept apologized. "Cyan was coming in through the window."

"Sure, blame it on me," I heard Cyan's distanced voice come through. "Whoa, she's actually playing something besides support?" Cyan's bewildered voice continued, "Oh, but she's 0/1."

I pursed my lips but didn't say anything in response. She probably wouldn't be able to hear me anyways. Even though we bonded yesterday, it didn't seem like we were going to get along anytime soon.

"She's just mad that you were clinging onto her boyfriend yesterday," Hurtle teased.

"It was an accident!" I reminded him.

"It's not her fault if she can't keep her hands off—" Adept had said at the same time, but was interrupted by Cyan.

"Who can't keep her hands off of you?" Cyan demanded.

"It's a joke Cy," Adept reassured her.

"R-right. I knew that. It just sounded like someone was harassing you," Cyan mumbled.

"I'd tell you guys to get a room, but you're both already in the same room," Hurtle said. I giggled at his comment. Even more so when Adept went over to take the red buff from Hurtle. "Hey!"

"Thanks for the leash man, much appreciated," Adept thanked. I heard Cyan laughing in the background.

"APH. ADEPT IS BULLYING ME," Hurtle whined.

"Time for a coup d'état," I suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Hurtle agreed with me. Both of our voices had gotten serious.

"Pitchforks?"

"And lots of fire."

"…"

* * *

><p>We spent the next couple of weeks grinding ranked games. I never thought I'd see the day when we would make it to Challenger, but it soon happened. Then there was the grind up the ladder. I spent more time playing the game than I usually did. My parents didn't seem to mind as long as I got my school work done, but it meant that my days usually had the same schedule.<p>

Worlds was nearing its end. Group stages were over and they were already approaching the semifinals. That meant Hurtle was going to make his final decision in about two weeks – to stay here or to move to Korea. I didn't tell my team, but I was already starting to feel burnt out. It felt like the only reason I still played was because I wanted my best friend to stay.

"I think we should take a break," Adept suggested as the **Defeat** animation appeared. This was the third game we lost today in a row. I groaned as I face-planted into my keyboard. The keys smashed into my face, this was probably going to leave a small indent later.

"We'll play again tomorr—" Adept was saying until I left the call. I took off my headset and pushed my chair so it glided backwards. I left my seat and flopped onto my bed. I played terribly the past couple of games. I got caught out a lot more than I usually did and my warding was subpar at most. Hurtle didn't say anything, but I know he was struggling during laning phase because I wasn't pulling my own weight.

I heard my ringtone go off, but I ignored the call. I just listened to the song play before it died off. I flipped myself so I was laying on my back and proceeded to stare at the ceiling.

'_Am I forcing myself to play?' _I asked myself. It was fun to play for a little while, but I couldn't imagine myself playing this game every single day for multiple hours at a time. I frowned. I clearly didn't have the drive. Maybe it was better for me to bail out before I dragged the rest of the team down. I doubt it'd be that hard for them to find another support. My ringtone went off again while I was having these thoughts, but I barely heard it.

I closed my eyes and laid idly, trying to clear up my mind. I didn't want to make a rash decision, but I knew exactly where I was leaning towards.

Fifteen minutes passed before I heard my door swing open. I groaned, the person could have at least knocked. I felt something land right next to me and the momentum caused my body to lurch upward. That caused me to open my eyes once more and I looked next to me to find Hurtle intently staring at me. I blinked, registering that Hurtle was here.

I screamed and scrambled to sit upright. I heard footsteps rush up the stairs.

"Don't worry about it, Jasper probably scared her with his presence," I heard Aphromoo call out. The footsteps disappeared after that.

"Hurtle, what are you doing here?!" I demanded him, putting a hand over my chest. My heart was racing.

"You didn't answer my messages or my phone calls," he told me. "So I got worried and ran over here."

"Sorry," I frowned. I didn't realize I was making him worry, "Everything's fine though."

"That's not really reassuring," he rolled his eyes before adjusting his body so he was properly laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Really," I tried to convince him. I plopped my head back down on my pillow. We both stared at the ceiling for a while before he spoke up.

"I don't blame you for the games," Hurtle asserted. I didn't say anything in response.

"Everyone has a bad day once in a while," he continued. I grimaced, Hurtle was trying his best to make me feel better, but I still felt bad.

"What's wrong, Stella?" Hurtle turned his head so he was looking at me. I didn't move. I was avoiding his gaze.

"I don't think I'm cut out for this," I finally confessed. I glanced over and with the corner of my eye I could see him frowning. I averted my gaze once more.

"Don't get me wrong, it's fun playing with everyone… but I can't see myself playing this every day for hours and hours," I mumbled, covering my face with both of my hands.

I felt Hurtle shift on the bed and soon I found myself being tickled. I burst out laughing as I tried to slap his hands away from me. "AHA HA HA."

"S-stop i-it H-hurtle!" I cried out as I squirmed. Eventually he stopped and I looked up to see my best friend with that huge grin of his.

"What was that for?!" I exclaimed, smacking his arm, but still smiling. My sides were feeling sore.

"You look much better when you're smiling," he shrugged. I rolled my eyes at how cheesy that was, but there was an apparent smile on my face.

"I thought we said no more cheese," I teased him.

"You're the only one who agreed to that," Hurtle smirked.

"Thanks Hurtle," I muttered.

"There you go again," Hurtle stated. I rose an eyebrow.

"I mean it!" I pouted.

"I know Aph," he grinned, plopping back on my bed once more. "So you really don't think you can do this?" he asked me.

"I don't have much faith in myself," I admitted.

"I have faith in you," Hurtle immediately responded.

"Cheese, Hurtle," I pointed out.

"Well I do," he grunted. I didn't say anything to this. I didn't want to give up, but I also didn't want to force myself.

"I don't know," I mumbled, poking him in the side. He jolted slightly, but then relaxed when I didn't continue.

"Take a break and think about it for a couple of days," Hurtle advised me. "I'll tell everyone else that you need a break. I don't think they want to burn you out."

"I don't kno—"

"Please Aph. For me?" Hurtle gave me his puppy dog eyes. I felt the corner of my eye twitch.

"Alright, fine. I'll give it three days," I told him. He broke out into a wide smile.

"Good. I better go home now," Hurtle announced getting up, "I ran out without saying anything to dad," he grinned sheepishly.

"Good job," I complimented him as I got off my bed. We walked downstairs. I opened my front door as Hurtle put on his shoes.

"Think about it!" he yelled as he walked off, waving goodbye.

"Alright!" I called out before closing the door.

'_If only it was that easy_.'

* * *

><p>1129/14


	14. Together

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

Have you ever wished that an author would update twice on same day? Wish granted, enjoy~

* * *

><p>"Aph, are you okay?" Aphromoo asked me. I was in the living room catching up on some reading when my father walked in.<p>

"Yeah, I'm doing well," I answered, not looking up from my book.

"Are you sure?" he asked me. I paused my reading and shot him a confused look.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Aphromoo gave me a skeptical look before joining me on the couch.

"Well, Jasper looked really worried and out of breath when he came knocking on our door," Aphromoo explained. I rolled my eyes. '_Leave it to Hurtle to make a dramatic entrance_,' I thought.

"And you're sitting downstairs," Aphromoo continued.

"What's wrong with me being downstairs?" I frowned, putting my bookmark in place before closing my book. It didn't seem like I would be able to go back to my reading anytime soon.

"You know I don't mean it like that," Aphromoo countered, "It's just that you've been busy playing with your team, right?"

I nodded in confirmation. "I'm just taking a break," I told him simply. I wasn't lying, Hurtle told me to take this break. Last night, when I returned to my computer, I received a few messages from Adept asking me if I was okay. He had already logged off so I didn't bother to respond. Hades sent me a text saying that Hurtle had informed the rest of them that I was going to be taking a break. He also offered his help to me if I ever needed it. I told him that I was just feeling a little burnt out from playing league and that I would be fine in a couple of days. Hurtle didn't tell them about my doubts, thankfully. I'm sure that they would feel more hesitant about playing with me if they knew. Who would want to play with someone who wasn't giving it their all?

"If you were just taking a break, I don't think Jasper would have ran all the way over here," Aphromoo pointed out.

"I may have abruptly left the call, ignored his messages and all of his phone calls," I mumbled guiltily.

"Who knew my little girl could be such a drama queen," Aphromoo grinned at me.

"I got it from Doublelift," I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, you're both way too dramatic for your own good," Aphromoo agreed.

"Tch."

"But you know Aph, you can always ask us for advice," Aphromoo offered. "We've both been in your position before," my dad said.

"So we might be able to help you," he hinted. I knew he wanted me to ask him right now.

"Thanks dad," I said, not taking the bait. He sighed.

"Alright young lady, what's wrong?" Aphromoo decided to be more direct.

"I don't think I can do this," I told him. There was no point in me trying to hide it from him, he'd eventually find out. '_Stupid persistent dads_,' I thought.

"I know that feeling," Aphromoo reassured me. I looked at him skeptically. My parents were pretty successful professionals. I didn't see how he could relate to me.

"I had my bumps in the road," Aphromoo said, reading me like a book. "You know what, let's go for a walk," Aphromoo declared, leaving the couch.

"Right now?" I complained, feeling quite comfortable where I was.

"Right now," he answered. I rolled my eyes, but followed my father to the front door.

We left our warm house for the cold outdoors. I pulled my coat closer to me and crossed my arms. We walked in silence. I was confused, I thought my father wanted to go on this walk to talk to me. Around us there were kids either riding their bicycles or playing on their front lawn.

A little girl ran up to me and tilted her head up so she could look at me. She had a huge smile on her face and she was clutching a teddy bear in her hands.

"You're pretty!" she squealed. Her older sister ran over to us and picked her up.

"Sorry about that," she apologized.

"Don't worry, she meant no harm," Aphromoo grinned. I was too embarrassed to say anything. The older sister carried her little sister back to their house. "That was cute," Aphromoo stated.

"Y-yeah," I stared at the ground. I had to admit, it made me feel a little happy to hear that. We continued walking for a few minutes before I decided it was time to break the silence.

"So did you want to talk to me about something?" I asked Aphromoo.

"What, I can't take a walk with my lovely daughter without wanting to talk about something?" Aphromoo teased me. I rolled my eyes and looped my arm around his.

"Yes," I smirked and he laughed.

"I'm still waiting," he answered ambiguously.

"Waiting for what?" I asked.

"You know what," he remarked. I furrowed my eyebrows as I tried to decipher my dad's intentions. I thought back to what we were discussing inside of the house. He told me that he and Doublelift had been in my shoes before. Was he waiting for me to ask him for advice?

"I don't know if League of Legends is for me," I told him, "I don't know if I can see myself playing professionally. I thought it was going to be okay at first, but I don't know if I love the game enough to make a career out of it," I started to tell him about all of my worries, "I remember reading about how people often lose the motivation to do things they love when they start being paid to do it, and I think that's going to happen to me… Right now I'm not even being paid to play and I'm already feeling burnt out because of it."

Aphromoo waited for me to stop my rant. He didn't interrupt me at all.

"Hun, what you're feeling is completely normal," he assured me. I looked up at my father. I felt tired and hopeless.

"You know, my career started with me losing _a lot_," Aphromoo revealed. I frowned. I knew that CLG struggled to make it to Worlds, but I didn't see it as a complete lost.

"And this was even before I stayed on CLG," he added. I tilted my head to the side. You would think that as their daughter, I would know more about my parents' professional stories, but I didn't.

"My parents gave me two months to get my act together," Aphromoo begun, "I streamed for a month and made about $8,000 dollars."

"Wow," was all I could say.

"Yeah wow, that was a lot of money for someone who just played video games," Aphromoo grinned. "I always strived to be the best I could, even though I lost so much. It took a long time before I joined CLG," Aphromoo continued, "but then I couldn't cope with the pressure and I left."

"You just left?" I asked him.

"Yeah I did. It took me awhile to figure things out, but eventually I knew what I wanted to do… and it wasn't to just stream. So when your father asked me to rejoin CLG, I did," Aphromoo stated.

"Your father was known as one of the best AD carries at the time, so I knew I had to… not suck," Aphromoo laughed. "I knew that I had to step up my game and show them that the time I spent away from the competitive scene only helped me grow. I was no longer the person who just left, instead I was the person with the drive to be the very best."

"It's really about the amount of work that you put in," Aphromoo abruptly stopped walking and I almost tripped over myself. Luckily I was holding onto him or else I probably would have face-planted onto the cement. I looked around us and we were standing in front of the park.

"It's okay to feel burnt out, Aph," he reassured me, "Not even I could play League all the time," he admitted. "You need to find your balance between work and play. Taking this break could be really good for you."

We walked into the park and I sat on the swings. I didn't object to Aphromoo pushing me even though I was quite capable of doing it myself. '_I'll let him baby me for a bit_,' I thought.

"Does your team know how you feel?" he inquired.

"Just Hurtle," I informed.

"You should let them know," he advised, pushing me with an even greater force.

"They're your teammates, Aph, you can't just keep these kinds of things to yourself," Aphromoo stated. I didn't say anything in response. I didn't want to admit that I was being selfish about this. I knew that this was a team effort, but I wanted to dwell alone in my problems for a while.

"You hear me Aph?" he asked for confirmation when I didn't respond to what he was saying earlier.

"I heard you," I told him. That didn't mean I was going to go running off to tell my teammates though.

"Good," was all he said and he stopped pushing me. He sat on the empty swing and joined me up in the air.

"I'm not saying your career is going to look like mine," Aphromoo continued talking once he reached my height. He was facing the opposite direction so I could see his face whenever I lunged backwards.

"And I'm not saying that I'll have all the answers for your problems—," Aphromoo said once we were both able to see each other. He waited in between swings before talking.

"But I think that this would be a good experience for you—"

"It'll help you grow. You'll—"

"Learn to let others into your life—"

"And let them help you with your problems—"

"And you'll always have me and Peter to support you—"

"No matter what you decide. Just know that we—"

"Support your decision one-hundred percent—" my father was starting to sound out of breath.

"So if you ever need something, tips, or whatever—"

"Just say the word and we'll do whatever we can—"

"To help—man I'm getting too old for this," Aphromoo huffed as he slowed down. I stopped kicking and waited for my swing to slow down too. Once we both were up on our feet, I quickly moved to him and engulfed him in a hug. I felt his arms around me.

"Thanks dad," I mumbled, not letting go.

"Anytime baby," he said. I looked up at him with a big smile on my face and he returned the grin.

* * *

><p>The next day Hurtle invited me to Café Perle after school with the promise of cheesecake. I had my notebooks scattered on top of our usual table. This was the second day of my break and Hurtle was going to join me in catching up on schoolwork (he was fairly behind). He ordered our food and drinks as I organized my notes to make room.<p>

"One hot chocolate and a slice of crème brulee cheesecake for m'lady," Hurtle announced as he placed my sweets on the table.

"Thank you, kind sir," I grinned. I placed my hands around my mug and felt my hands warm up instantly. "You didn't get the usual?" I asked as I peeked at what was in his cup. The top was covered in foam.

"Coffee?" I questioned, quirking an eyebrow. He wasn't much of a coffee drinker.

"I need something to keep me awake," Hurtle shrugged before taking a bite out of his double chocolate chip muffin.

"It's your fault for slacking, you know," I accused him.

"Someone was going to take my spot!" Hurtle tried to reason. I just rolled my eyes. He skimped off on studying because someone was a few LP away from taking his number one spot. He had held off on playing solo queue because of our ranked 5s, so in a way I guess it was everyone's fault.

"You could always take it back later," I told him. The season wasn't over yet.

"Can't give them false hope, Aph," Hurtle grinned.

"Whatever," I muttered, shaking my head. Hurtle would always be Hurtle.

We spent the next ten minutes or so going over our Calculus notes. Hurtle was struggling with his derivatives when he suddenly looked up.

"What?" I asked him as I paused from writing. I was in the middle of showing him how to solve an equation when I noticed that he was looking over my shoulder. He waved and I turned my head curious of what interrupted my explanation.

"…" I felt my eye twitch when I saw Adept, Cyan and Hades standing at the café's entrance. I turned back to Hurtle and glared at him. "What are they doing here?" I hissed quietly.

"I might have invited them…" Hurtle said guiltily.

"Might have?" I repeated. He gave me a weak smile and nodded. I heard footsteps come towards us and I mentally groaned. This was supposed to be my break away from league which also meant my break away from the team.

"Hey Jasper, Stella," Adept greeted us, taking the empty seat next to me. Cyan reluctantly took the seat next to Hurtle and Hades pulled a chair from another table.

"Hey," Hurtle returned the greeting, slightly inching his seat towards the window. '_Real subtle,_' I thought, but Cyan didn't seem to notice. He was acting like she had cooties or something.

"Hey everyone, what a coincidence seeing you guys here," I stated, forcing a smile. The look on Hurtle's face told me that I was looking scary.

'_Stop it Aph!_' he mentally told me.

'_I have no clue what you're talking about_,' I stared at him, my eyebrow rose.

'_This is for your own good_,' Hurtle tilted his head slightly.

'_I'm being nice_,' I gave him a small smile.

"Whoa, this is freaky," Adept spoke up and the both of us simultaneously turned to look at him.

"Hm?"

"It's like you guys are communicating telepathically," Adept explained, "or just staring at each other," he added as an afterthought.

"Are we interrupting?" Hades asked me specifically. I gave him a genuine smile. Hades probably realized that I wasn't expecting their arrival.

"And you tell us to get a room," Cyan muttered under her breath.

"We were just catching up on school work," I told Hades, ignoring Cyan's remark.

"Hurtle invited us to the café last night," Adept informed me. I shot my best friend another quick glare before looking at Adept.

"Did he now?" I said dryly.

"Don't blame him, Aph," Adept gave me a sheepish grin, "We were all worried when we heard you were going to take a break. You didn't seem to be feeling well the last time we played."

"In other words, you su—" Cyan began to say, but was cut off by Hades.

"We wanted to make sure you were alright," Hades nodded.

"Yeah that," Cyan agreed. As they were telling me this, I took a bite out of my cheesecake so I wouldn't have to talk.

"See Aph, they were all concerned," Hurtle said, but I knew he secretly meant '_I was doing this for you, so __please __don't kill me_.'

I glanced at my best friend and rose my eyebrow, '_You're off the hook… for now_.' He sighed in relief.

"This telepathy thing is scary," Adept commented, shuddering.

"You have no idea…" I grinned.

"That's what makes us the best bot lane ever," Hurtle boasted.

"If Stella decides to stay, that is," Cyan spoke out.

"Cy!" Adept quickly silenced her, giving her a look.

"What, it's tru—" she stopped talking when he gave her another look.

"It's alright guys, Cyan's right," I defended her.

"See," Cyan grinned triumphantly.

"… Does that mean you're leaving?" Adept frowned. I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Is there anything we can do to convince you otherwise?!" Adept panicked, his eyes widening.

"I didn't say that I was going to leave just yet, silly," I poked his cheek and he relaxed.

"But you're thinking about it," Adept said hesitantly.

"Possibly…"

"Why?" Adept asked. I blinked a couple of times still wondering what I was going to say to them. I turned away and brought my mug closer to me. I stared at the dark liquid.

"We're a team, Stella," Adept began.

"That's what my dad told me," I cut him off.

"Well your dad is right, you know? If you have any problems, you should let us know," Adept said softly.

I looked up at Hurtle before looking at Cyan, then Hades and finally at Adept. My gaze stopped at Adept, and I bit my lip before averting my gaze back down to my mug.

"I'm just tired of grinding games," I told them. "I don't know if I have it in me to keep playing so often."

"That's it?" Cyan piped in. I looked at her, confused.

"What do you mean that's it?" I asked her.

"The way Hurtle said it made it seem like you were going to quit this game altogether," Cyan explained, "If you need a break, then that's fine. Everyone needs a break once in a while."

"Instead of telling us that, you got us all worried for no reason," she said a little annoyed.

"Cy…" Adept began, but this time she gave him a look.

"Don't 'Cy' me. You guys have been babying her ever since we started playing!" Cyan said angrily. "Miss Goody Two-Shoes over here needs to learn to confront us with her problems," she continued, and no one interrupted her. "Otherwise," she glared at me, "I think we should just find another support," she said before getting out of her seat and leaving.

I fixed my gaze on her empty seat when Hades said he would go talk to her. Hades promptly left afterwards, but I didn't seem to notice his absence.

"Sorry Stella, Cy was being a little harsh," Adept apologized, putting his hand on my shoulder to reassure me. I shook my head.

"She's right," I admitted. "Instead of just telling you guys, I just kept it to myself," I said sadly.

"Being in a team is all about communication. It's about having a good team atmosphere…" I trailed off.

"She's one to talk," Hurtle grumbled, causing Adept and me to look at him. "She didn't even want us to be on the team in the first place, yet here she is blaming you for not confronting us," Hurtle sounded rather annoyed. "What a hypocrite," he scoffed, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

"Ugh girls," Adept groaned, before slouching in his chair. I giggled at his reaction.

"Can you imagine living with us?" I grinned.

"Don't even remind me about that," Adept covered his face with his hands.

"You still have time to back out," I joked. He removed his hands from his face and tilted his head slightly towards my direction.

"Never," he grinned and I felt myself smiling.

"Can you not flirt with my best friend in front of me," Hurtle shuddered and Adept's face turned slightly pink.

"I-I wasn't flirting with her!" he stammered.

"Stop teasing him, Hurtle," I rolled my eyes. I was almost immune to Hurtle's teasing. Hurtle just responded with a shrug.

"He's more fun to tease than Hades," Hurtle smirked.

"As team captain, I forbid you guys from teasing me ever again," Adept declared.

Hurtle and I looked at each other.

"Pitchforks?" he asked me.

"And lots of fire," I nodded.

"… not this again," Adept mumbled.

* * *

><p>Eventually Cyan came back into the café with Hades. She sat down in her chair and mumbled, "Sorry."<p>

I just smiled at her, "No, I'm sorry," I said. She looked at me confused. "You were right. We're a team, and it was wrong for me to keep this from you guys," I explained to her, "It was selfish of me to make you guys worry."

"I'm sorry too," Cyan said once more, "Hades told me that I was being a hypocrite about it." Hurtle shot me a knowing look that said '_I told you so!_'

'_Not the right time!_' I told him.

"I'll try harder to see you guys as teammates," she muttered.

"ALRIGHT!" Hurtle shouted, causing most of us to jump in our seats. "Finally, some bot lane ganks," he grinned.

"I'll think about it," Cyan rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

"That's a step," I joked. She's probably never even considered ganking our lane before.

"Damn Stella, you're stealing everything away from me," Adept teased me.

"Only when you're not looking," I grinned. I noticed we were receiving confused looks from everyone else. "Inside joke," I informed them.

"Wow Stellz, thanks for including me," Hurtle said, pretending to be hurt.

"Oh, the things you'll never know," I gave him a sly wink and he laughed.

"Do tell us," Cyan said, putting her hands on the table and leaning closer. I had to admit, that made me a little nervous.

"I'm hungry," Hades announced randomly. We all turned to look at him. He had a content look on his face. "What?" he asked confused.

"How did you guys get here anyways?" I asked curiously. I could have sworn that they lived on the other side of the city.

"Hades drove," Adept said nonchalantly.

"You have your license?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I turned 18 and got my license not too long ago," Hades said.

"Great! I'm starved, let's go somewhere," Hurtle grinned.

"We haven't finished studying," I told him and he groaned.

"C'mon Aph, they came all this way to hang out with us, not to study!" he tried to reason with me. I glared at him. He was really behind on his studies.

"I'll buy you more cheesecake tomorrow?" Hurtle offered and I nodded before I started to put away my belongings.

"Note to self, Stella loves her cheesecake," Adept commented.

"You bet!" I said happily, getting up from my seat. "Shall we?" I asked. Everyone nodded and we left the café. Maybe I wasn't going to need the third day of my break.

* * *

><p>1129/14


	15. Korea

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

* * *

><p>"This is so exciting!" I squealed as I ran up to my best friend with my luggage in tow.<p>

"Yeah, two days of no school," Hurtle grinned. I rolled my eyes, of course Hurtle was excited about that. Our parents got us tickets for Worlds and so we're flying over to Korea to see it. It was a Thursday, but thanks to our flight, our parents said it would be alright to skip school that day. The finals would start on Saturday.

Unfortunately, an EU team didn't make it this year. However, a NA team did, so our parents thought it'd be alright to go and watch. '_Tch. Their NA pride_,' I thought. I have a bias for EU teams since I grew up here all of my life, but my parents still maintained their NA pride deep in their hearts. I was so sad when 'History Written' lost during the semifinals. They were Europe's last hope, but unfortunately, they lost to China's 'Raging Dragons'. On another note, my parents' old rival team, Team Solo Mid, made it to Worlds. That's why Uncle Turtle insisted that we go watch it live, and without further deliberation my parents agreed.

"I forgot to ask everyone whether or not they're also going," I said as we walked towards the airport.

"Dad said that Hades would be coming with Hai and Dade," Hurtle answered me. I guess it made sense since Hai was on C9 and C9 was close with TSM. Plus, Dade was probably happy to visit home. "I don't think Adept and Cyan will be there, though," he added.

"That's unfortunate, I'm sure they would have enjoyed it," I stated.

"That's fine. It gives Adept some time to catch up to me," Hurtle smirked. A while ago, Adept found the motivation to try to knock Hurtle out of his first place spot. In fact, the two recently became really competitive with one another. They would compete at everything: who could get the most CS and the highest KDA in each game they played together. They've even raced for first blood. '_Boys…_' I sighed at that thought.

"Is Hades on the same flight?"

"Nah, they'll be leaving later tonight. He had a test today that he didn't want to miss," Hurtle informed. My mouth formed a small 'o'.

"Hades knows Korean though, right?" I grinned, "That means he can probably take us around."

"Yeah! Korean street food here we come," Hurtle said excitedly.

Although travelling was fun, being inside the airports was a tedious process. It took us about an hour before we made it through security and we were now waiting in our gate area.

I glanced around and saw a few other League of Legends fans also waiting to go to Korea. The location of the World Championships rotated among the participating regions every year. Last year Worlds was held in China and the Chinese team won against the Korean team. Korea is still a very strong region, but the other regions had definitely caught up. This definitely made things a little harder for the International Wild Cards, but they still showed some improvement over the years.

Brazil was now considered a good region (they won their first World Championship about six years ago) along with Japan (the furthest they've reached was semifinals). The professional scene in Japan took a long time to develop because of how different their culture was, but after many attempts to break into the LCS scene, it was more accepted for them to become professional gamers. Australia had been hyped this year, but they didn't make it past the group stages. However, they would definitely be a region to look out for next year.

We waited another half an hour before we actually boarded the plane. I was relieved to finally move beyond the gate area. Our parents were identified by some of the older League fans and we all know how much I hate _that_ _kind_ of attention.

I sat besides Hurtle while Uncle Turtle sat next to Doublelift. This odd arrangement could be explained by the fact that Uncle Xpecial also came along and we didn't want to make things awkward for the divorced couple. The plane ride was going to be pretty long anyways, so Aphromoo sat with him.

"I wonder what Korea will be like," I wondered aloud. I've been to the States to visit family and to other parts of Europe too, but never have I been to Asia.

"You're going to _love_ the food," Aphromoo responded. That alone was enough to keep me excited for the trip. Authentic Korean food. Our team was named after a Korean BBQ place after all… My stomach growled at the thought of our team name. '_Naming it after a Korean BBQ place? Whose idea was it anyways?_' I thought sarcastically.

"Who do you think is going to win?" Doublelift asked.

"TSM of course," Uncle Turtle answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I think Raging Dragons will win 3-2," Doublelift retorted.

"You mean TSM will win 3-2," Uncle Turtle corrected him.

"Want to bet on it?" Doublelift challenged.

"Loser wears the other person's jersey the next time they appear on LCS," Uncle Turtle proclaimed.

"Deal."

"Deal." And our fathers shook on it.

"Dadddd. Doublelift is gambling!" I whined.

"Peter," Aphromoo said from the seat in front of me.

"It's harmless!" Doublelift reasoned from the seat behind me.

"Yeah, it'll be harmless. We all know how good Doublelift is at gambling," Uncle Xpecial smirked, peeking his head over his seat.

"Yeah, that's why it's harmless for Uncle Turtle," I said dryly. Everyone laughed at my father's objections. He was definitely the easiest to tease. After all, they did that for years on the analyst desk whether or not my father was present.

* * *

><p>"HADES!" I shouted as soon as I saw Hades entering the hotel lobby. I was waving my arms frantically, ignoring the looks from the random bystanders. He looked over and waved before turning to say something to his parents. His parents gave me a glance before saying something to him. Hai had a big grin on his face while Dade was shaking his head at him. I rose an eyebrow before looking at Hurtle who shrugged. I looked back and saw Hai giving Hades a nudge. This resulted in Hades shaking his head. Hai laughed at his son and gave him a friendly slap on the back, pointed towards our direction and gave him a wink.<p>

"What do you think they're talking about?" I asked Hurtle.

"His dad is probably teasing him," Hurtle responded. "You did put on quite a show just now," he added.

"All I did was let him know we're here," I crossed my arms.

"All you did was let _everyone_ know we're here," Hurtle corrected, and I smacked his arm.

"Hey guys," Hades greeted with a sheepish grin.

"Interesting parents you got there," Hurtle smirked.

"Ah… you saw that…" Hades nervously scratched the back of his head. "Hai can be a little immature at times," he confessed, "Luckily Eo-jin, erm—you guys know him as Dade, keeps him in check."

"Sounds fun," I grinned and Hurtle nodded in agreement.

"You guys have strange definitions forfun," Hades sighed.

"Her father is Doublelift after all," Hurtle pointed out.

"True," Hades acknowledged.

"Yeah, your father can't be much more of a drama queen than Doublelift," I told him.

"Who can't be more of a drama queen than Doublelift?" I heard Aphromoo's voice come from behind us. I turned around and gave my dad a playful smile.

"What! I'm not a drama queen," Doublelift argued.

"It's okay Lift Lift, you don't have to try to hide it," Uncle Xpecial grinned, slapping a hand on Doublelift's back.

"They do say the first step to recovery is acceptance," I chimed in.

"My own daughter is bullying me," Doublelift cried out, looking at Aphromoo for help. Aphromoo shrugged his shoulders and gave him a 'Don't look at me' look.

"HAI!" Uncle Turtle called out, waving frantically like I did before. I gave Hurtle a meaningful look and he groaned. Hades's parents made their way on over after they finished checking-in. They exchanged a few pleasantries before Hai looked over at me.

"So this is your daughter," Hai grinned, asking my parents.

"No," Doublelift immediately said, drawing looks from everyone. "I mean yes she's our daughter, but no Hai," Doublelift quickly corrected himself when Aphromoo shot him a glare.

"Aww, you're no fun Lift Lift," Hai complained.

"Why does everyone still call me Lift Lift?!" Doublelift whined. I leaned over to Hurtle.

"What are they talking about?" I whispered.

"You don't want to know," Hurtle whispered back, but the smile on his face was very apparent.

"Dimitri, go hang out with your friends, we'll take your luggage into the room," Dade told him. Dimitri nodded and handed his luggage to his dad.

"Does that mean we can go exploring?" I asked Aphromoo.

"Dimitri knows his way around, right?" Aphromoo asked Hai and Dade. They both nodded.

"We've lived here for a while," Hai informed them.

"I don't know…" Doublelift said, crossing his arms.

"Don't worry Lift Lift, she has Jasper and Dimitri to take care of her," Uncle Xpecial grinned.

"Yeah! One for each arm," I giggled, putting my hands on my hips. Hurtle immediately looped his arm on one side and Hades hesitantly copied Hurtle's motion, though he looked a little embarrassed from this.

Doublelift didn't look satisfied, but after a nudge from Aphromoo, he reluctantly agreed.

"Alright! Let's go," I commanded and we left the hotel.

It was already late into the afternoon. Hurtle and I spent the last few hours exploring the hotel while we waited for Hades to arrive. This encompassed us piggy-back riding down the long hallways, racing up the stairs (never again), trying to find the pool area, pretending to be a bickering old couple, and pillow fighting (until a pillow went flying into Doublelift's or in his words: his "beautiful" face).

"So where should we go?" I asked Hades since Hurtle and I had no clue of our exact location.

"Are you guys hungry?" Hades asked us.

"Always down for food," Hurtle replied.

"Street food or restaurant food?" Hades gave us two options.

"STREET FOOD!" Hurtle answered. Hades laughed before he began directing us down a few streets. We took this time to catch up from the last time we hung out.

After seeing them at Café Perle, I found the motivation to keep on playing. Adept made sure we took breaks to do other team things like play other game modes , though Hurtle usually played solo queue during those times. We even tried playing other games (I'm still really bad at first person shooters). Adept also decided that we should meet up once every two weeks to hang out in real life. We weren't quite there yet, but we were beginning to act like a real team.

"Oh, oh! Let's go get some rice cakes!" I squealed, unlooping my arms from the guys and running over to one vendor.

"Someone's excited," Hurtle smirked, but he also looked interested. We both turned to Hades.

"Wah—oh right," he muttered, stepping up to the vendor. He said something in Korean that we obviously couldn't understand, but the lady gave us three bowls of Tteokbokki and wooden chopsticks. We handed her some money in return before leaving the stall.

"Thanks Hades!" I said before stuffing my mouth with a rice cake. "H-hot, hot, hot!" I said fanning my mouth. The guys laughed at me., but I just shrugged and continued eating. It was so hot and spicy, but so good.

"WHAT'S THAT?" Hurtle shouted, pointing at one particular food stall.

"Corndogs?" I guessed, as we walked over.

"It's basically a hot dog covered in french fries," Hades told us.

"That sounds AMAZING," Hurtle retorted, his eyes were lit up.

"You want one, Aph?" Hades asked me and I shook my head no.

"What! But Aph, it looks—"

"Like a heart attack on a stick," I cut him off.

"Your loss," Hurtle grinned as Hades ordered him one.

We continued walking around, checking out all of the stalls and sampling different foods.

"Oh, you guys might like this one," Hades exclaimed, walking up to another food booth. There was a brown-cookie-looking-thing on a stick. Koreans really liked putting food on skewers. "This is Dalgona," he started his explanation, "There's a shape on each cookie. If you can eat everything around it without breaking the shape, you get to have it for free," Hades grinned.

"Let's do it!" Hurtle said, as soon as the challenge was presented. I rolled my eyes, a game to get free food was definitely something Hurtle would be willing to participate in.

"Alright," Hades said before talking to the vendor. Soon we were all presented with one cookie each. I was given a heart, Hurtle a star, and Hades a teddy bear.

"It suits you," I said to Hades when I saw his cookie.

"She's right you know," Hurtle grinned, "she has first-hand experience," he teased, causing Hades to blush. I stepped on Hurtle's foot and he almost dropped his cookie.

"I almost lost!" Hurtle complained, shielding his cookie from me.

"It was an accident," I stated, not even trying to sound innocent.

We started to pick away at our cookies. I lost almost immediately because I didn't realize how fragile the cookie was. Hades completed the challenge with ease and Hurtle was close, but ended up breaking his shape in half.

"I almost did it," Hurtle frowned as we paid for our cookies.

"Don't worry, it takes time to perfect," Hades reassured us. "Is there anywhere else you guys would like to go?"

"Let's go to a PC bang!" Hurtle suggested. Internet cafes were really popular in Korea. I'm sure we could find people who also played League.

"Alright, sounds good," Hades said, as he took the lead. They looped arms with me once more so that we wouldn't lose each other in the crowd.

As we entered the PC bang, my eyes widened in amazement. I have never been in one before. There were a bunch of computers lined up and there were people playing various different games. However, the most popular was definitely League of Legends. We walked around and observed. Hurtle was trying to see if he could pick up new techniques.

I stopped to observe a player who had his monitor off. I could tell he was definitely playing League from the way his left hand was positioned on his keyboard. I heard him clicking intensely, but he was just staring at a dark screen. '_Am I missing something?_' I asked myself as I continued to watch him.

"WHAT THE HELL MAN. HOW DID YOU GET A QUADRA?" yelled the person next to him. He was speaking in English. They didn't look like they were from here, but then again it wasn't uncommon for regions to have players from other regions. Were they on a team?

"This is the only way to play Lee Sin,"the guy said calmly. I stared at him with disbelief. Was Korea this advanced? Were they recruiting supernatural beings? I swear his monitor was completely off.

"Dammit Shy," his friend grumbled. I had saw the Quadra Kill appear on the other person's screen. '_Shy? Wasn't that a pro player?_' I thought. The person didn't look Korean, that's for sure. '_The American Shy?_'

"…" They had to be joking.

"But you had to take the penta from me, didn't you Ultima?" Shy complained.

"How was I supposed to know you were serious when you said you could play like this?" Ultima reasoned.

"You just got to believe, man, just got to believe," Shy told him. I started to walk away, still not believing what I just saw.

"Stupid bots," I heart Ultima mutter under his breath. My palm made contact with my forehead, making a loud noise.

"What's wrong with her?" Shy asked his friend.

Ultima shrugged his shoulders, "Go figure."

I quickly walked away to find Hurtle and Hades.

"Aph! Over here," Hurtle called out, beckoning me over. I quickly made my way to him. He was talking to someone who was sitting at one of the computers. When I arrived, he turned his head to look at me.

"Lust?" I questioned, recognizing the gamer.

"That's right. Stella, was it?" he asked and I nodded in confirmation. "I was just telling Jasper how surprised I was to see him here," he explained, "He was supposed to visit the gaming house after worlds." That was news to me. I looked at my best friend who tried to avoid my gaze.

"I'm supposed to make my decision after Worlds, remember Aph?" Hurtle said hesitantly.

"Ah, that's right," I acknowledged. In truth, I completely forgot about Hurtle's decision. We were getting along really well with the rest of the team that I had just assumed he already made his decision.

"He told me that he has another offer," Lust grinned, "Looks like we're going to have to really convince him when he comes to visit." I narrowed my eyes, wondering if Lust knew that I was part of the other offer, but it seemed like a harmless comment so I just shrugged it off.

"I'd introduce you to the rest of the team, but they left half an hour ago," Lust continued, not noticing the slight change in the atmosphere. "I stayed to play a few more ranked games."

"Lust is fifteenth in Challenger," Hurtle informed me.

"That's nothing compared to your first place spot," Lust said modestly.

"Well Korea is supposed to be harder," Hurtle smirked, "I'm sure I'd barely make it to Masters if I came here."

"Just give it a couple of months and I'm sure you'd catch up to me," Lust reassured.

"Sounds like a challenge," Hurtle declared. '_Oh no_,' I thought. Hurtle was always up for a challenge.

"Does that mean you'll accept our offer?" Lust asked him.

"Still thinking about it," Hurtle said automatically. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. That meant Hurtle hadn't decided yet.

"Yeah, think about it and let us know on Sunday, okay?" Lust said.

"Sounds good," Hurtle agreed.

"Anyways Stella, you play League right?" Lust asked, bringing me into the conversation.

"Yeah, she's Diamond IV?" Hurtle guessed.

"Diamond II," I corrected him.

"That's pretty good," Lust complimented me.

"Thanks," I said dryly. They were both in Challenger, so Diamond was nothing to them. "I'm going to look for Hades," I told them. I walked away before hearing their replies. It was starting to become difficult for me to breathe in this stuffy room.

'_I need some air_.' I thought as I walked out of the PC bang.

* * *

><p>1130/14


	16. Promise

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

* * *

><p>I kept walking forward, further and further away from the PC bang. It was really noisy outside. People were hanging out with their friends, families, and significant others. I guess this made sense since it was a Friday night. I stuck my hands in my pockets to keep them warm. It was chilly outside, but I wasn't quite ready to return to the warmth of the PC bang.<p>

I really needed to clear my head. It was filled with negative thoughts. Hurtle was offered the opportunity of a lifetime and I even told myself over and over again that I was going to support him no matter decision he made. Worlds was his dream, not mine, so it wouldn't matter if I made it there or not.

But there was still our teammates to think about. We got to know them pretty well over the past couple of months. We learned that Adept made a deal with his parents in hopes to follow his own dreams: to play mid over AD carry. He wanted to prove to his parents that he and his team could make it – that we could make it to Worlds. He did his best to take on the role as our leader and worked hard to improve his shot calling. He also spent a lot of time trying to get to know me and Hurtle so we'd feel like we were apart of their group.

On the other hand there was Cyan. Cyan was still a little rough around the edges, but she was nice at times. Sure she still primarily ganked for Adept, and struggled to call objectives, but she was trying hard to improve. More importantly, she was trying her best to get along with Hurtle and me– okay, scratch that. She was trying her best to get along with me. She and Hurtle still argued a lot, but we learned by now that it's all fun and games (I hope).

Then there was Hades. He was the most mature of us all. He knew how to read situations well and direct conversations. Which is kind of funny given the fact that he doesn't talk much. Even though he's only a year older, he takes good care of all of us. Hades is definitely the most reliable in game, too. He's always consistent during the laning phase and always knows when to roam or to teleport into a fight. Hades is also never picky – there are times when Adept will tell him to play a certain champion, and he doesn't complain. He told me that it didn't matter who he played as, all that mattered was that he was playing with his friends. They made playing fun for him.

This was no longer about Hurtle and me. It wasn't just the two of us anymore. We were now part of a group of five… at least for now. I'm sure that if Hurtle left, our group would slowly diminish. I don't know if I could play with a different AD carry. Then it would just be Hurtle, me and the trio. Three different groups instead of one. If I'm not willing to play with another AD carry, then there would be no point in keeping me as their support. I'm sure we all could remain as friends, but things would definitely be _different_.

As I was trying to sort through my thoughts, I didn't realize that I wandered really far off. When I stopped walking, I didn't recognize any of my surroundings – not that I recognize anything in Korea.

'_Whoops_' I thought as I turned around. I was walking straight, right? That just meant I had to walk straight in the other direction.

'_I'm not lost!_' I told myself as I proceeded to walk back in a straight line.

Five minutes had passed.

'_Man, I walked far_.'

Ten minutes had passed.

'_Still not lost_.'

Half an hour had passed.

'_Did I already pass it?_' I turned around and started to walk back.

An hour had passed.

'_Okay. I'm lost_.' I finally admit this to myself. Maybe it wasn't smart for me to walk alone in a foreign place. I looked around trying to find something – anything that would help me figure out where I was, but everything was in Korean.

I stood there for another ten minutes, praying that Hurtle and Hades would find me. Maybe they would notice that I was missing? I was gone for a long time.

"Are you lost?"

I turned around to see who was talking to me. In front of me stood a teenage girl. She was very skinny and had long black hair. But the most important thing was that she spoke English.

"Yes," I told her immediately. I wasn't even going to try to pretend that I wasn't. I was lost and this girl could be the key for me to find the way back to my friends.

She giggled at my response and I looked at her confused. "Sorry, you just answered so bluntly," the girl laughed. "I wasn't expecting a direct answer from you," she explained. I blushed slightly.

"But you did look lost," the girl nodded. '_Was I that obvious?_'

"Oh! I almost forgot, I'm Karissa," the girl stuck her hand out.

"Stella," I said, shaking her hand.

"KARISSA!" a voice called out and I saw a petite older woman quickly walk over. "You shouldn't run off like that," the woman scolded.

"But she looked lost! I had to help her!" Karissa explained to the woman. That's when the woman noticed my presence. She turned to look at me.

"Is that true?" she asked me.

"Y-yes. I am lost," I answered her.

"Ah…" she looked at Karissa once more, "that is still no reason to run off!"

"But mom—" Karissa started.

"But you did the right thing," Karissa's mother stated. The two of them shared a smile before turning their attention back to me.

"What's your name?" the mother asked me.

"Stella," I told her.

"That's a pretty name," she complimented me. I muttered a quiet thanks. "You can call me Midi," she said. Her name sounded awfully familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint it.

"Really mom?" Karissa questioned Midi.

"I like that nickname," Midi shrugged.

"It's cute," I returned the compliment.

"See Karissa," Midi smiled and her daughter just rolled her eyes. "So where are you supposed to go?" Midi asked me, taking her daughter's hand. Karissa looked like she was only 12. Even though my parents told me over and over again not to talk to strangers, I felt like I could trust them. Probably because Midi seemed really motherly and not like someone who would hurt me.

"I'm supposed to meet my friends at a PC bang," I told her truthfully. She frowned when I said that.

"Oh my, there's quite a few of them around here," she said. Then it was my turn to frown. How was I going to find them now?

"Do you remember how it looked like?" she asked for more information. I closed my eyes and tried to picture the place we entered.

"Now that I think about it… there was a giant neon octopus outside," I rose an eyebrow as I said that. "Not sure if that helps at all—"

"I think I know the place you're talking about. It's not too far from here," Midi interrupted me.

"REALLY?" I exclaimed. She nodded and gave me a reassuring smile.

"Shall we go?" she asked. I nodded happily.

"Yes, please," I answered and she lead the way.

"So Stella, what brings you to Korea?" Midi asked me.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you're obviously not from around here…" Midi giggled.

"Right…" I mumbled. I almost forgot that I was lost.

"Mom, you're embarrassing her!" Karissa complained.

"Sorry dear," Midi said, but the grin stayed on her face.

"I'm actually here to go watch the League of Legends World Championships," I told them.

"Cool! We are too!" Karissa squealed. I rose an eyebrow. I would have never guessed that they were League fans.

"Really?" I asked with disbelief.

"Yeah, my daddy's old team is playing in the finals," Karissa grinned. My eyes widened.

"Your dad was a professional player?"

"Yeah! He was really popular," she bragged.

"Karissa!" Midi snapped.

"What? She doesn't seem like a crazy fan," Karissa commented. '_That's a good thing, I guess_.'

"Don't worry, I know the feeling," I admitted to them. Usually I kept my parents out of conversation when I met new people, but this was an exception because I knew I could relate to Karissa.

"Really?" Karissa asked me curiously.

"Yeah, my parents were professionals too," I said scratching the back of my head.

"Oh?" Midi seemed a little suspicious. "Who are they?"

"Aphromoo and Doublelift," I answered.

"Oh!" Midi exclaimed, halting and turning around to look at me.

"You're Zaqueri and Peter's little girl."

"Yeah," I shrugged like it was no big deal. '_Wait she knows their names_.'

"It's nice to finally meet you," she smiled, "What a coincidence—oh we're here."

I followed her gaze and saw the big neon octopus sign. "This is it," I confirmed.

"STELLA ROSE BLACK."

I winced when I heard my full name. Hurtle never used my full name, but given the circumstances it was probably appropriate. He started running over to me with Hades and Lust not too far behind. Once Hurtle was in reach, he lunged forward and engulfed me in a big hug. I stumbled a couple steps back due to the momentum.

"Hey Hurtle," I said weakly, "You're crushing me." He hugged me tighter before letting go.

"You deserve it," he glared. "How could you just walk off like that!" he started to complain, "You said you were going to look for Hades, but then Hades told me that you never found him!"

"Jasper, calm down," Hades stated.

"Yeah Jasper, she's safe now," Midi agreed. Hurtle whipped around when Midi spoke.

"Aunt Midi?" he asked. I rose an eyebrow, '_Aunt Midi?_'

"Hi Aunt Midi," Lust grinned. '_Lust too?_'

"Hi boys," she responded, giving them both a hug. Karissa tugged on her mother's shirt. "They're your father's teammates' kids," Midi told her.

"Oh," Karissa stepped forward, "Hi, I'm Karissa," she introduced herself.

"Hi Karissa," Hurtle grinned.

"Nice to meet you," Lust said. Hades nodded to show his acknowledgement.

"I didn't know you knew Aunt Midi," Hurtle directed at me.

"I just met her," I told him, "Karissa ran up to me when I was… uhm, lost," I said sheepishly.

"Oh yeah, we're not done with that conversation," Hurtle glared. "Wait until your parents hear about this," he muttered under his breath before turning back to everyone.

"Aunt Midi, where is Uncle Dyrus?" Hurtle asked. '_Ohh, Karissa is Dyrus's daughter._' I recalled that they were supposed to be at the reunion, but had a family reunion in Hawaii to attend.

"He's actually at the hotel with your's and Lust's parents," Midi informed him. "Shall we head over?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Today had been really tiring.

* * *

><p>With the help of Midi and Hades, we were able to make our way back to the hotel.<p>

"They should be at the restaurant," Midi told us.

"Midi!" everyone chorused when they spotted her. Uncle Turtle beckoned her over.

"Wow you managed to find everyone," Aphromoo commented when he saw us following her.

"Where did you go?" a dirty blonde asked Lust. I assumed it was his father, Bjergsen. He had mentioned who his parents were when I briefly met him at the reunion. I looked to Bjergsen's right. There was a Korean man standing next to him who I assumed was Lustboy. That meant that the last unfamiliar face had to be Dyrus.

"I went to the PC bang with my team," Lust told his parents, "And then Jasper found me there."

"Oh hey Jasper!" Bjergsen greeted. Hurtle walked over to them to say hi. "Going to join Jang-ho's team?" he asked.

"I still haven't decided yet," Hurtle told him.

"What? Turtle!" Bjergsen looked over at Uncle Turtle who was planted in between my parents. "Why hasn't he decided on coming over here yet?" he demanded for an explanation.

Uncle Turtle had his signature grin on his face, "Didn't you hear? He has another offer."

"What offer could be better than coming over here?" Bjergsen asked.

"The offer to play on the same team as our daughter," Aphromoo chimed in.

"Oh? Your daughter plays?" Bjergsen said, looking in my direction.

"Yeah, Hurtle's been playing with her ranked 5s team," Aphromoo informed him.

"Are they in the LCS?"

"Nah, they're going to try to get into the Challenger scene first and then make their way up," Hai stated.

"Oh? Is your son on the team as well?" Bjergsen asked him.

"Yeah, their captain is Dimitri's best friend."

"And our daughter is Jasper's best friend," Aphromoo added.

"But Jasper has the opportunity to join a qualified team in Korea," Bjergsen stated it like it was the obvious choice. Dade and Lustboy were talking to each other on the side, trying not to get involved. Surprisingly, Doublelift stayed quiet during the whole exchange.

"Jasper will decide what he thinks is best for him," Uncle Xpecial jumped into the conversation. I shot him a thankful look and he smiled at me.

"Boys, let's not argue about this in front of the kids," Midi said sternly. Compared to everyone else around her, she was very small, but everyone stopped at her command.

"God, I love that woman," I heard Dyrus mutter. This led to eye rolling from several people around the table.

* * *

><p>"That was very interesting," I mumbled as I stood beside Hurtle in the elevator. We were heading back to our hotel rooms. Midi and Karissa left early because Karissa was getting tired. On the other hand, Hades stayed to converse with the adults while my parents stayed to catch up with their old friends. I was exhausted from being lost for an hour and decided that it was time to turn in for the day. Hurtle offered to walk me back, making a subtle joke about me getting lost. Luckily my parents didn't pick up on it.<p>

Hurtle didn't say anything as we walked to my hotel room.

"Coming in?" I asked him, and he nodded before entering. I took a seat on my bed and he took a seat on my parents'.

"Alright, what's wrong Jasper?" I asked him. He had been abnormally quiet during the whole trip here.

He looked at me and frowned. His frown gradually turned into a pout and he crossed his arms.

"You don't know how worried I was when we couldn't find you!" Hurtle complained. I winced when he said that.

"… sorry—" I tried to apologize, but he continued.

"Don't 'sorry' me!" he snapped, making air quotes. "Your parents gave me the responsibility to make sure you didn't get abducted by some crazy lunatic and you thought it was smart to go wandering off!"

It was very rare for Hurtle to get angry with me. He was always so relaxed.

"Then the person at the counter said he remembered seeing a girl stroll out!" Hurtle was making hand motions now, "And when we couldn't find you outside, I panicked!"

During his rant, I got off the bed and walked over to sit next to him.

"Thanks Hurtle," I interrupted him as I wrapped my arms around him. He returned the hug.

"Don't think that you can—"

"Thanks Hurtle," I repeated and he pouted when I interrupted him again. I squeezed him tighter, returning the bone crushing hug he gave me earlier.

"A-Aph. I can't breathe!" he complained. I gave him a look that told him '_You deserved it_' and he rolled his eyes.

"Did I tell you that you're the best?" I asked him.

"You don't have to tell me for me to know—ow!" I hit him with a pillow.

"Your ego is showing," I scoffed.

"That's a mighty fine ego I have," Hurtle grinned. This was the Hurtle I knew and loved.

"But really, I'm sorry for wandering off," I frowned.

"Why did you do it?" Hurtle asked me in curiosity. I groaned before smashing my face in the pillow before answering him.

"Aph, I don't speak face-smashed-into-pillow-nese," Hurtle informed me. I let my arms fall to my side.

"Really?" I asked, bewildered. "I thought everyone knew—"

"Aph," he interrupted me. '_Man, we really like interrupting each other_,' I thought, but I knew it wasn't time to joke around… even though Hurtle did start it.

"I don't want you to leave," I finally told him how I felt.

"I'm still here Aph," he looked confused.

"I mean, I don't want you to move to Korea," I sighed, flopping down onto the bed. I stared at the hotel room ceiling. I heard Hurtle copying my movements. This felt oddly familiar.

"I don't think I want to move here either," he said truthfully.

"WHAT?" I flung my body upwards back into my sitting position and stared at him. He smiled at me.

"I've grown kind of fond of our team," Hurtle started, bringing his hands behind the back of his head. "If I join Lust's team, then I would have to move over to Korea," he continued. '_Well that was obvious._' He couldn't exactly play for the team while he was in Berlin. The ping would be a major problem, not to mention the time difference.

"I'd have to get situated here, and then I would have to get used to homeschooling." I laid back down on the bed. "I don't know if I'd like being home-schooled. I know my situation would be completely different from Hades, but still – it worries me." That was right. Hades had a difficult time adjusting to home-schooling.

"Then I have to get used to playing with my new teammates."

"Rather, they'll have to get used to playing with you," I grinned. He smiled back.

"And I'd have to learn Korean because Lust won't be able to translate for me all the time," Hurtle frowned, "And I hate not being able to be in control of my circumstances."

"What if I get lost like you did?" Hurtle said, nudging me.

"Then you'll find Aunt Midi to help guide you back?" I joked.

"Then you'll greet me with a bone-crushing hug?" Hurtle laughed. "But really Aph, I think today helped me realize that life would be completely _miserable_ without you," he exaggerated.

"The cheese," I pointed out.

"I'll show you cheese," he grinned, flashing me a devilish look.

"N-no! I surrender!" I squirmed, trying to move away from his reach.

"You're no fun," Hurtle pouted as I used the pillow to cover my sides.

"But that's why you can't leave me," I grinned. He rolled his eyes.

"Your ego is showing, Aph," he repeated my earlier words.

"Aww, but you know you love meee," I whined in a very Hurtle-like fashion.

"Maybe I should really consider Korea—"

"Don't you dare!" I shouted, hitting him with the pillow. He deflected it, and stole it from my grasp. "M-my pillow!" I complained, reaching for it. He held it further away from me.

"I'm not going to leave you Aph," Hurtle told me softly.

"You better not," I smirked, grabbing the pillow during his moment of weakness.

"I mean it," he said, trying to wrestle the pillow from me.

"Promise?" I asked, letting go of the pillow. I held my pinky out. The look on his face told me that this was the cheesiest thing, but I didn't care.

"Promise."

Our pinkies interlocked and at that moment, I knew I wasn't going to lose my best friend.

* * *

><p>1130/14


	17. Worlds

*-* I'm alive! It's also very cold in Sweden :( so I guess that means I should have a lot of time to write the next chapter, eh?

* * *

><p><strong>[Sunday, 9 October 2039]<strong>

"Are you guys excited?" Aphromoo asked everyone.

"So stoked!" Hurtle answered excitedly and I nodded in agreement. This was my first time going to the World Finals.

"It's not like we've been attending Worlds since Season 1 or anything…" Uncle Xpecial muttered sarcastically.

"If I remember correctly… Curse didn't make it to Worlds in Season 4," Doublelift grinned cheekily. Uncle Xpecial had participated in the first three World Championships with Team Solo Mid, but didn't make it to Worlds with his new team in Season 4.

"In fact—I'm positive that you guys got…_ fourth_ in LCS," Doublelift continued. The look on Aphromoo's face said '_Oh no you didn't!_' After TSM, Uncle Xpecial joined Curse. Curse was known for always placing fourth. They were "cursed" with that position.

"At least we didn't almost get relegated," Uncle Xpecial shot back. During that same season, CLG was a top team. However, once the season ended, they had dropped to the bottom 3 when Curse knocked them out of the running for Worlds that year. This meant that CLG had to win against a challenger team in order to keep their spot in the LCS.

"The keyword being: almost," Doublelift argued. I rolled my eyes. "And at least I got to go to Worlds!"

"Oh yeah. You've been on the analyst desk so many times that I forgot you were a player," Uncle Xpecial said casually. Doublelift face-palmed. '_Doublelift brought this upon himself,_' I giggled quietly.

"Here are our seats!" Aphromoo announced, interrupting the small argument. Uncle Turtle led the way as we funneled into the row. It was really crowded in the stadium. According to Riot, the event was sold out – as usual.

I took my seat next to Hurtle and Uncle Xpecial.

"Man, this brings back memories," Doublelift said, leaning back on his seat.

"Really?" Uncle Turtle said, sounding a little surprised. "Oh. I guess it's because you were always part of the audience," he smirked. '_And of course the arguing starts again,_' I sighed. Hurtle on the other hand looked very amused. He loved it when our parents trash-talked each other.

"Hey!" Doublelift straightened his posture, "We could have easily made it to Worlds!" he protested.

"You're right. CLG always had potential," Uncle Xpecial chimed in. Aphromoo just laughed as the former couple continued to make jabs at Doublelift even though they were technically about him too. Doublelift was a really easy target.

"Back me up here!" Doublelift whined, pouting at Aphromoo who rolled his eyes at his partner's childish antics.

"Alright guys, give him a break," Aphromoo said with a wide grin on his face. He was clearly enjoying it. "The Opening Ceremony should be starting soon."

"Who's performing this year?" Hurtle asked.

"Some K-POP group," Uncle Xpecial shrugged, "If only Taylor Swift performed…" he added quietly, but I heard him clearly since I was sitting right next to him.

"YES!" I agreed immediately. A few years ago, Uncle Xpecial showed me a bunch of his old Taylor Swift CDs and I quickly fell in love.

"What?" Hurtle asked confused, "Since when were you into K-POP?" he questioned.

"Not that. Uncle Xpecial was just mentioning Taylor Sw—" I began to explain, but was interrupted by a loud groan.

"I'll never forgive you for poisoning her mind," Doublelift complained. He wasn't too happy with me blasting her music day and night. For days he would complain, saying that I was going through puberty and he didn't know how to deal with a teenage girl. I rose an eyebrow as I recalled that, '_How exactly did they manage to raise a girl?' _Before I could find the answer, my thoughts were interrupted.

"I have no clue what you're talking about," Uncle Xpecial said innocently, but he had a visible smirk on his face. I'm sure Uncle Xpecial heard about these complaints from Hurtle.

"One day you'll understand us," I told Doublelift, giving him a pitiful look.

"It's a girl thing, don't worry Uncle Lift Lift," Hurtle grinned, earning a glare from his father. "Kidding pops," he added.

"I think we accidentally swapped kids," Doublelift muttered.

"Really dad? I'm two months older," I pointed out the flaw in his logic.

"Well… I guess Jasper could always become my son-in—" Doublelift began.

"Don't finish that sentence," I warned him.

"That's not a bad idea," Uncle Xpecial said, making me facepalm.

"That's like incest!" Hurtle complained. '_At least someone is on my side_,' I thought.

"Yeah. I like you and all, but I don't think you'd make the best husband for Aph," Aphromoo joked. I giggled, we all knew how childish Hurtle could get.

"Hey! I'd make a great husband!" Hurtle defended himself.

"See Aph! Even Jasper agrees," Doublelift smirked. Hurtle covered his face and shook his head. I could hear him murmuring to himself.

"Ohh baited," Uncle Turtle laughed from the far end.

"Can we not," I sighed, covering my ears with my hands.

"Oh hey, we're like the three wise monkeys," Doublelift said covering his mouth.

"Clearly not if you're still talking," I pointed out as I removed my hands from the side of my head.

"Nothing could stop Lift Lift from talking," Uncle Xpecial smirked. Doublelift opened his mouth to retort, but was immediately cut off by Aphromoo.

"Shut up, it's about to start," Aphromoo ordered as the lights started to dim.

"I stand corrected," Uncle Xpecial muttered. No one spoke after that. We all turned our attention to the stage.

The stage started to fill with smoke. Different colored lights tried to shine through and the particles looked like fairy dust. The crowd started to cheer excitedly as silhouettes appeared. I rose an eyebrow, the first silhouette definitely looked like Ahri. The nine tails made it quite obvious. The other silhouettes were harder to identify, but one of them carried a spear while another had very long pigtails.

When the smoke cleared up we could see five girls standing on stage. They were all cosplaying as different League of Legends champions. The Popstar Ahri greeted the crowd while the other girls waved. I rose an eyebrow when I saw the Popstar Sona cosplay. Sona couldn't talk, let alone sing.

'_Get it right people_,' I thought, but the crowd didn't seem to mind. The girls started to perform, singing and dancing. '_I still would have preferred Taylor_.'

* * *

><p>"I can't believe he really named himself TheOddSon," Doublelift muttered as the teams entered champion select. "Why didn't you name yourself after me, Aph?" Doublelift questioned me. I rolled my eyes.<p>

"It's because she likes me better," Aphromoo grinned.

'_Well… that was technically true at the time…_' I looked away, not wanting to contribute to the conversation. This went unnoticed by my parents who continued to argue.

This year's finals was between last year's champions, China's 'Raging Dragons' and North America's 'Team Solo Mid'. Anyone who played League of Legends knew about Team Solo Mid. They were one of the original teams back in Season 1 and they've been prominent since then. The current jungler was actually the son of one of their previous junglers, TheOddOne – hence the name. Hurtle's parents were both on the team at one point in their career. In fact, that was how they met.

Once the champions were loaded, 'T-S-M' chants could be heard from all around the stadium. I found myself chanting along with everyone else. Hurtle was standing and waving the sign I helped him make this morning. He knew some of the TSM members personally, thanks to Uncle Turtle.

I watched as the camera moved over to TheOddSon. He was playing Jax jungle this game. He had just cleared his blue buff before he made his way towards the top lane for a level 2 gank. The enemy Rumble had pushed the lane against their Dr. Mundo.

In the brush closest to the enemy Rumble's tower, a teleport animation started on the trinket ward that Dr. Mundo placed earlier. It was a teleport coming from their level 3 Annie. Jax came in from the river and Rumble started to retreat. Jax used his 'Counter Strike' and used his 'Leap Strike' onto a ward to get closer to Rumble. Rumble immediately flashed, but was stunned by the Annie that had teleported. This gave time for Jax to stack the stun.

The crowd was cheering when 'First Blood' was announced. Annie started to recall back to base. The castors started to describe the replay and I zoned them out. Hurtle and I were pretty skeptical about the double teleport composition, but we were proven wrong almost immediately.

"Better take notes, Aph," Hurtle grinned. I rolled my eyes.

"Please, if anything, Adept should be the one taking notes," I smirked, "but sure, I'll play Annie support with teleport and leave you at level 3," I nodded enthusiastically like it was a great idea.

"… I'll text Adept to take notes," Hurtle ignored my comment.

* * *

><p>The first game ended in Team Solo Mid's favor. After that 'First Blood', they managed to snowball the rest of the game. They were now in the second game, and the Raging Dragons showed no signs of giving up.<p>

Twenty-three minutes into the game, the Raging Dragons managed to sneak an early Baron while TSM was busy doing dragon. They had 2 'Blade of the Ruined Kings' and a jungle Nunu on their team which made taking Baron easy.

Raging Dragon's mid laner had gone to dragon to try to distract them, but when Team Solo Mid secured their second Dragon buff, Raging Dragons secured their baron buff.

Team Solo Mid began to chase after the enemy Ahri only to be met with the baron'd up Raging Dragons in the middle lane. This led to an epic team fight where only the supports managed to make it out alive.

"Scumbag supports," Hurtle muttered, "At least you'd protect me, right Aph?"

"That's a lot of dead bodies," I commented as the screen showed the aftermath of the fight, ignoring his question.

"Yorick would have a field day," Hurtle responded. There was a moment of silence between us. "Wait! You ignor—"

"No I didn't," I quickly cut him off.

"Yeah you di—"

"You're imagining things."

"No I'm no—"

"Shh! They're fighting!" I pointed at the screen. He crossed his arms and gave me a pout.

'_Stupid_,' I rolled my eyes.

'_Why are you so mean to me?_' Hurtle had a sad expression on his face.

'_Because you're cute_,' I smiled.

'_Hey! I'm not cu—_' he looked appalled.

'_Shut up and watch the game_,' I glared at him.

"Why are you guys making faces at each other?" Uncle Xpecial whispered to me.

"Because he wouldn't shut up," I explained. Uncle Xpecial just looked at me confused.

The game was pretty even until Team Solo Mid's AD Carry got caught out. I could hear both of the former supports muttering something under their breaths.

"Hey! It was still worth!" Doublelift complained. That only confirmed what I thought they were muttering about. "I got the red buff!"

After killing the AD Carry, Raging Dragons managed to claim game two for themselves.

Despite the lost, the 'TSM' chants still continued throughout the stadium.

"Don't worry, TSM is still going to win," Uncle Turtle affirmed.

"I don't know… Raging Dragons are starting to adapt," Doublelift responded. Those two didn't forget about their bet.

"I think TSM has a good chance," I said.

"See even Aph agrees," Uncle Turtle grinned, giving me a high-five over both of my parents and Hurtle. I had to reach pretty far since he was sitting at the other end.

"I swear you guys have corrupted my daughter," Doublelift groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"I have the best influences," I smiled, earning a one-arm hug from Uncle Xpecial.

"Yeah Lift Lift, why can't you be more like your daughter?" Uncle Xpecial asked. Doublelift looked like he was going to say something, but kept his mouth shut because Aphromoo was glaring at him.

"Yeah daddy, why can't you be more like me? Then maybe you'd be good at the game," I giggled. Doublelift's jaw dropped and Hurtle's parents snickered at my comment. He looked like he really wanted to reply, but Aphromoo was still glaring at him.

"But—" Doublelift started to complain, but Aphromoo tilted his head slightly, signaling that there was no 'But's' in this conversation.

"She got the trash talking from you," Aphromoo said, finally looking away from Doublelift.

* * *

><p>Team Solo Mid pulled out an interesting composition for the third game. They had a Brand support and a Thresh AD carry. After a few levels of only CSing, their bot lane engaged. Thresh landed his 'Death Sentence' onto the enemy Jinx.<p>

The enemy Nami quickly used her 'Ebb and Flow' to heal her AD Carry. At the same time, Brand used his 'Pillar of Flame' on the hooked Jinx, putting his passive on her. Thresh used his 'Death Leap' to fly towards Jinx who flashed before he could 'Flay' her. Jinx dropped her 'Flame Chompers!' right between Thresh and Brand while Nami managed to land her 'Aqua Prison' onto Thresh.

It was a good disengage by Nami, but then Brand flashed forward, over the 'Flame Chompers!' and landed his 'Sear' on Jinx which stunned her. Brand casted his 'Conflagration' onto Jinx and Thresh managed to finish her off with his 'Flay' passive.

"Can we do that?" Hurtle asked, giving me puppy dog eyes.

"There's a reason why I'm the one who plays Thresh," I said simply, raising an eyebrow.

"I can land my skill shots!" Hurtle defended himself.

"I'll let you play Brand bot," I compromised.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Hurtle asked me.

"Sadly I always seem to know what you're thinking," I sighed. "We can do it for smaller tournaments." Hurtle had a huge grin on his face.

The game was really interesting to watch after the play in the bottom lane. Thresh managed to get a decent amount of items. His 'Flay' passive hurt a lot especially combined with all the Crit he was stacking.

Team Solo Mid won when Thresh managed to bring Jinx down to 1/10 of her health during an engage.

The score was now 2-1 in favor of Team Solo Mid.

* * *

><p>"I'm not worried! Raging Dragons still has time to make a comeback," Doublelift declared as the teams were in champion select.<p>

"Good luck winning those two games," Uncle Turtle smirked. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to wash my jersey before I give it to you," he added.

"I BELIEVE!" Doublelift exclaimed.

"You mean you BAYlieve," Uncle Turtle corrected him.

"I'm pretty sure I didn't mean that," Doublelift frowned.

"Baylieve?" I questioned curiously.

"TSM used to be located in the Bay Area," Uncle Xpecial explained. "We had T-shirts and everything." My mouth formed a small 'o' shape. '_Yeah, that's a stupid motto._'

The castors were predicting which champions would be chosen for each team. After that Brand and Thresh combination, they didn't seem to know who to expect.

Unfortunately, the teams decided to go with standard picks. It was probably because this fourth game would decide whether or not there would be a fifth.

"TSM is looking for team fights," I muttered as they locked in the Malphite and Orianna combination.

"But Raging Dragons want to split," Hurtle pointed out. They already had Jax and Zed locked in.

"Yeah, I'm not sure if TSM are going to get the fights they want," I sighed.

"They can get good fights at objectives."

"But they'd have to commit or else Jax can seriously punish them if they dance around too long."

"Then what do you think they should do?" Uncle Xpecial asked us. He was listening to our conversation.

"I think they should gank top early and then pressure mid lane," I answered.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because if they shut down Jax early, he'll be easier for Malphite to manage. If Orianna and Caitlyn can negate Zed's ultimate with a QSS or Zhonya's then he'll have to resort to split-pushing. RD's only wave clear is Corki, but I think TSM would be willing to dive with that Alistar support. They don't even need Malphite for the wombo combo," I explained.

"If Malphite stacks armor then he can stop either one of the split-pushers with his teleport," Hurtle added. "He has okay wave clear as long as the wave isn't huge and he could stop Jax from teleporting to help Zed or something with his ultimate."

"You guys are learning," Uncle Xpecial grinned. I looked towards my left and I could see that the other adults were also smiling. They were staring at the screen intently, pretending not to pay attention to our conversation, but it was pretty obvious. There was no way they were so happy to see the teams position themselves around the river.

* * *

><p>The game ended. It played out exactly how we thought it would, so it wasn't a big surprise for us.<p>

"We'll be here one day," Hurtle said as we were surrounded by loud cheering. "Not on this stage, but on the Worlds stage."

"Yeah," I agreed, "You, me, Adept, Hades and Cyan…" I muttered, looking at the crowd around us. I never considered Worlds to be my dream, but after being around all of these passionate fans… I wondered how it would feel like to be playing in front of all of them. I felt my heart beat accelerating. The thought of it made me nervous.

I didn't have time to imagine the scene since my thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice.

"HA! I TOLD YOU," Uncle Turtle boasted. He had jumped out of his seat and was pointing at Doublelift. This caused several of the people around us to stare at Uncle Turtle. Doublelift covered his face and groaned.

"Whyyyy," he complained in a voice that said the world was ending.

"It's okay, dad," I giggled, "I'm sure you'll look great in pink." Doublelift glared at me.

"GREAT IDEA APH! I have 'TheRainMan Pink' somewhere in my closet," Uncle Turtle grinned.

"Thanks a lot, Aph," Doublelift muttered.

"Just being helpful," I gave him a big smile. He sighed in response. Doublelift opened his mouth to say something, but I couldn't hear him over the 'TSM' chants.

"We're going to need a catchy team name," Hurtle leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"We're like Korean wannabes," I groaned, covering my face. Hades and Adept were both half-Korean, but that wasn't the point.

"New team name or riot?" Hurtle laughed.

I just gave Hurtle a look that said, '_Why not both?_'

Hurtle smirked. Adept was going to get an earful once we got back to Germany.

* * *

><p>0120/2015


	18. Name

**[Tuesday, 11 October 2039]**

"I'M HOME," I yelled out as I swung my bedroom door open. I took a few steps before I lunged forward and flopped onto my bed. I hugged my pillow and buried my face into it. It felt great to be back.

"THANKS FOR HELPING WITH THE LUGGAGE, APH," Aphromoo called out from downstairs, but I ignored him. Once I had opened our front door, my first reaction was to sprint upstairs to the comfort of my own room. There was no way I was going back down now.

"Did you miss me, Hunter?" I fondly asked my Poro. I picked him up and rubbed him against my nose. I took his silence as a 'yes'. "I missed you too!" I said, rolling onto my back. I held Hunter up in the air so he was staring down at me. I missed my favorite plush.

I heard a shutter come from the doorway and I immediately sat up. Hunter looked at me confused. Aphromoo stood in the door frame with my suitcase in one hand and his phone in another.

"Alright, I forgive you for not helping," he grinned, turning his phone around to show me the picture.

"Dadddd," I groaned, covering my face with Hunter. "Delete it!" I ordered, embarrassed.

"Not a chance," he replied immediately. I dropped Hunter onto my lap and saw the big smirk on my father's face. I gave him a pout, but he just laughed at me before leaving my suitcase at the door and walking away.

"Tch." I placed Hunter back in his usual spot next to my pillow before leaving my bed. '_I'll steal his cell phone _later,' I thought as I walked over to my desk and turned on my computer. Hurtle should already be home, and knowing Hurtle he was either online trying to squeeze in a ranked game or already passed out on the living room couch.

'_Speaking of Hurtle…_' I thought as I waited for my computer to start up. I tapped on my desk, thinking about what had happened in Korea. A lot had happened, but I thought back to our promise. '_He said he wasn't going to leave me_,' I recalled. Although he promised me that, he didn't officially turn down the offer – at least not to my knowledge. I wasn't even sure if he broke the news to his parents yet.

Bjergsen thought it was ridiculous that Hurtle was deciding between joining a team not yet in the Challenger series and a team that was already in LCK. Well Bjergsen wasn't completely wrong. If Hurtle was just a solo queue player being picked up by a team, the choice would be fairly obvious.

"_Hey Aph! How was Worlds?_" I got a message from Adept.

"_A lot of fun! Too bad you and Cyan couldn't come,_" I responded.

"_Yeah I'm surprised dad didn't want to visit home._" I almost forgot that Deft was Korean, but then again I never actually met his parents. "_But I'm sure Cyan would kill me if I left her in Europe all by herself,_" he joked.

"_True. Though I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to replace the both of you,_" I smirked. "_As long as we make sure not to associate your death and Cyan's murder with the team name_."

"_Wow. That's so cold, Aph_," Adept responded after a few seconds. I'm sure he was staring at his screen in shock of my confession. "_I don't know what to say_."

"_Speaking of team names, we should change ours_," I typed. I gave myself a satisfied nod, happy with my transition into more_ important _matters.

"_Why don't you and your new mid laner decide?_" he whined. I rose an eyebrow, amused by how offended he was.

"_Alright, I'll give Hurtle a call then_," I replied, already deciding to give away Adept's position to Hurtle.

"_WAIT NO. I WAS KIDDING APH. I WAS JUST KIDDING,_" he quickly responded.

"_But I was being serious._"

"_Wow this girl._" I stuck my tongue out at the screen, even though he couldn't see me. "_What happened to the sweet, innocent girl that I used to know?_"

"_She got lost in Korea_," I mused. That wasn't exactly a lie since I did… get lost in Korea.

"_Be right back. Flying to Korea_."

"_Wasn't that the first step to us finding a new mid laner and jungler?_" I asked.

"…"

"_When does step two happen? Does Cyan fly out to Korea to murder you there?_" I continued. I was rather curious as to how this would play out. "_Or does something else happen first?_"

"_I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you,_" was the only thing Adept said. I frowned. He wasn't helping me at all. It was like he wanted to live or something.

"_You're right. I should be asking Cyan since it's supposed to be her murder plot and not yours. You're just the victim._"

"_I'm a victim to your bullying!_"

"_What are you talking about? I'm just a sweet, innocent girl,_" I reminded him.

"_I thought she was lost in Korea_."

"_Yeah, but I managed to find my way back_," I shrugged. With the help of Karissa and Midi.

"_Wait… did you actually get lost in Korea?"_ Adept asked me.

"_Let's not talk about it._"

"_I'm asking Hurtle._"

"_FINE FINE. I got lost for an hour or two and then I found my way back, happy?_" I groaned. There was no way that Adept was going to bring it up with Hurtle. I didn't need another lecture.

"_Oh man, I'm never going to let you live this down._" I could imagine the grin on his face. The grin that I wanted to wipe off his face.

"_That'd be hard if I'm the only one who is still alive, eh?_"

"_SWEET AND INNOCENT. NOT MURDEROUS AND VIOLENT._"

"_Aw, you really think I'm sweet? Don't tell Cyan,_" I giggled.

"_Why not?_" I face-palmed. Was he really that dense? If he didn't know by now, I wasn't going to be the one to tell him.

"_We brought you guys some souvenirs,_" I typed, changing the subject once more. "_We also managed to get extra Championship Jinx codes_," I added.

"_SWEET!_ _When do I get mine_?" he asked me.

"_After we decide on a new team name_," I compromised. This was serious business.

"_But what's wrong with our current team name?_"

"_It doesn't really represent us._" If anything it only represented the two half-Koreans. Were we really going to be named after the flag?

"_I'm sure Unicorns of Love really represented their team,_" he pointed out.

"_HOW DO YOU KNOW THEY WEREN'T SECRETLY UNICORNS? HAVE YOU SEEN A UNICORN BEFORE?_" I typed in all capitals.

"_What are we then? The Flying Poros?_" As soon as he suggested that, I looked over to Hunter. He seemed to have approved the name. Though I wasn't so sure how I felt about launching him up into the air…

"_No. I was kidding Aph, please don't take me seriously_," Adept had typed by the time I looked back at my monitor.

"_Hunter agrees_," I typed. There was a long pause. '_Ah right… he doesn't know my Poro's name_.' I thought.

"_Hunter doesn't agree_," he replied back. I furrowed my eyebrows. How did he know whether or not MY Poro was agreeing or not.

"_Fine. Then we'll wait until everyone else comes online._"

"_As long as Hurtle doesn't decide on the name._" I giggled. Hurtle would probably come up with some troll name anyways.

* * *

><p>"<em>Should we have a call?<em>" Adept asked us in our group chat.

"_It'd be too messy_," I rejected his idea. I was already in a call with Hurtle. By the time everyone had gathered, he was already in the middle of playing a ranked solo queue game. Earlier I suggested he join us in a group call, but Hurtle didn't want to be distracted from his game. I was a little relieved by his decision. Cyan and Hurtle deciding something together seemed like a complete disaster.

"_Alright, then we'll just start thinking of a new team name_," Adept replied.

"_I don't see why we have to change our name_," Cyan complained. "_We should just be climbing the ladder_."

"_Do you really want to be known as a member of Taegukgi for the rest of your career?_" I asked her.

"_We should have chosen a Japanese name. That would have been much cuter_," Cyan typed. I sighed when I saw her response. Leave it to Cyan to want another foreign name.

"_Just start typing names you like_," Adept messaged.

"_Sugoi_," Cyan typed immediately.

"_Cy… not everyone speaks Japanese like you do_." I could imagine Adept shaking his head.

"_Fine :(_"

"So what names are you guys coming up with?" Hurtle asked me.

"Cyan just suggested 'Sugoi' – whatever that means," I informed him.

"She's such a weeaboo," Hurtle groaned. I giggled at my best friend's reaction. I could tell he was really glad to be playing his game.

Adept started to list a bunch of team names that we could use as references.

"_A lot of them have animals in their team names, maybe we should consider that?" _Hades pointed out.

"_Snake?_" Cyan proposed.

"_It should be more fierce like a Lion_," Adept argued.

"_Or a mythical animal?_" Hades suggested.

"_That could work too_," Adept agreed. I tried to think of all the team names with animals. There was the 'Raging Dragons' that almost won Worlds. I remember watching 'Modest Vixens' play at LCS. The Park twins had mentioned that their parents used to play for a team called 'WinterFox'.

'_So basically no more fox teams,_' I thought, '..._but foxes are cute…_' I frowned. This was hard.

"Are you sure you don't want to help?" I asked Hurtle.

"Yeah. I'm sure I'll just agree with whatever you like anyways," he shrugged. I rolled my eyes. That wasn't helpful at all.

"But you know how long it takes for me to think of a good name!" I complained to him.

"Like the time we made smurfs?" he brought up. I could visualize the smirk on his face.

"You need to give me time for these things!" I tried to defend myself. But I knew it was no use. We had wanted to make smurfs to play for fun, but I took over three hours to find a name I wanted. In the end we only had time for one co-op game before we had to go to sleep for school the next day.

"If you just chose one of the names I suggested…" Hurtle began.

"I was not going to be Aphrolift!" I cut him off.

"Aphazilla wasn't so bad," Hurtle retorted.

"I wasn't going to mix my name with Godzilla," I groaned.

"And you wonder why I'm not helping with the new team name," he laughed. I guess he had a point.

I turned my attention to our group chat. They had named a bunch of different animals we could choose from and were now trying to think of different adjectives to put in front of them. I frowned as I saw their progress. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be part of an animal team. It seemed so cliché.

"_This is hard,_" Hades commented as they were shooting out combinations.

"_Yeah. We should just be Adept's Angels_," Adept joked.

"_That's not too bad…" _Cyan typed. I felt my eye twitch.

"Hurtle. We're about to become Adept's Angels," I informed him.

"OH HELL NO," Hurtle shouted. I winced, that was louder than I expected. "It was Cyan's idea wasn't it?" Hurtle immediately accused.

"No, but she's the one who agreed with it," I giggled.

"_Alright! Adept's Angels it is,_" Adept decided even though only Cyan agreed.

"_Good luck finding a new bot lane_," I replied.

"_Aw c'mon Aph. I know you want to be one of my angels,_" Adept teased.

"_New team name_," Cyan replied. She didn't seem to like that idea.

"_Fine. It'll be our backup_," Adept replied. He wasn't going to let it go.

'_Why did we make him captain again?_' I couldn't help but question myself. I knew he was joking, but still…

"_Aph hasn't suggested a name_," Cyan typed, "_Wasn't this your idea in the first place?_"

"_I'm thinking!_" I replied.

"_More like you're wasting our time_," Cyan messaged.

"Hmph."

"What's wrong Aph?" Hurtle asked me.

"Cyan is saying I'm wasting everyone's time with the new team name," I mumbled.

"She's just mad we didn't go with Sugoi or whatever that was," Hurtle laughed. I smiled. Leave it to Hurtle to make me feel better.

"She wasn't too happy when Adept said I wanted to be one of his angels," I giggled.

"Damn that guy. Always flirting with my best friend whenever I'm not there," he joked.

"As if!" I rose an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, he can't steal you from Hades," Hurtle teased and I groaned.

"Tch. You're just trying to get rid of all the competition," I accused him.

"What competition?" he asked, confused.

"We all know you and Cyan have that love-hate thing going on," I smirked. Two can play that game.

"NO. Don't do this to me, Aph." I could hear a whimper come from him.

"What… it could work?" I tried to say confidently, but it sounded more like I was questioning myself.

"Let's not," Hurtle rejected the idea. "Cyan with anyone but Adept is scary," he added, "and I mean scary for the guy. Adept has already volunteered to be the sacrificial lamb."

"That's mean! Cyan isn't that bad," I tried defending her. Even though we had our differences, we were still friends and teammates.

"You're only saying that because there's no chance you'll be paired up with her," Hurtle jabbed.

"Okay, you caught me," I grinned even though I didn't actually mean that. "Why are we even talking about this? Stop distracting me!"

"You're the one who asked for my help."

"Well you're no help. At this rate, we'll be Taegukgi forever."

"Think faster! C'mon Aph! You can do it!"

"Your motivational skills need a little work," I joked. Hurtle started to complain, but I diverted my attention back to the group chat when I saw my name.

"_Aph you still there?_" Adept asked me.

"_Yeah._"

"_See? She's not even paying attention. This is a waste of our time_," Cyan messaged.

"OHH CALCULATED," Hurtle shouted before I could type my response. "Damn, I'm such a beast," he praised himself. He started to describe his play to me, but I zoned him out once more. I stared at my screen for a few seconds. '_Maybe…?_ _It could work…_' I started to think.

"THAT'S IT!" I yelled out, interrupting my best friend.

"What's it?" he asked me curiously.

"Calculated…" I told him.

"What?"

"Calculated Gaming," I clarified, "That's going to be our new team name."

"That's not too bad," Hurtle said. "CG – Calculated Gaming," he repeated, "It fits. I do make a lot of plays."

I decided to ignore his boasting and started typing.

"_Guys, I thought of a name_," I typed excitedly.

"_Finally she has an idea_." I could sense the sarcasm coming from Cyan, but I was too excited to let that bother me.

"_Calculated Gaming_," I told them. There was a moment of silence in the group chat before Hades started talking again.

"_That sounds good_," Hades agreed.

"_Not bad. We could have 'That was Calculated_' _as our catch phrase or something_," Adept suggested.

"_It's so nerdy,_" Cyan commented,_ "but whatever. I don't care_." I took that as her way of showing her approval.

"_Hurtle is down for the name_," I informed them.

"_Of course he is_," Cyan remarked.

"_Alright, Calculated Gaming it is!_" Adept messaged.

Within a few seconds, I got a notification: **You have been invited to join the rank team: Calculated Gaming.**

I clicked **View **and I was brought to the team page.

Without any hesitation, I swiftly clicked: **Join Team**

* * *

><p><strong>0127/2015**


	19. Anxious

**[Sunday, 27 November 2039]**

It was nearing the end of November and I was beginning to feel anxious. After changing our team name, we spent countless of hours climbing the ladder. Even though we got to know each other a lot better, there was still an apparent barrier between us and the trio. It didn't bother Hurtle as much as it bothered me.

On the bright side, my parents were extremely supportive. When I told them about our new team name, the first thing Doublelift commented on was how close CG was to CLG (I threatened to change the name right after). Aphromoo on the other hand loved the name. But even with all that, I still couldn't get rid of this anxious feeling I was having. Then out of nowhere, things started to become a little strange.

One day Hurtle showed up at my front door step with a couple of suitcases.

"… Are you running away from home?" I asked him. "If so, that's awfully a lot to carry," I commented as I eyed the luggage he brought with him.

"Hey Aph!" I looked up to see Uncle Turtle carrying a couple of boxes.

"If I was running away, I wouldn't have brought my dad," Hurtle grinned, motioning me to make room. I took a step to the side and Hurtle brought his suitcases into the house.

"Did Hurtle do something bad?" I asked Uncle Turtle, raising an eyebrow, "Are you kicking him out of the house?"

"Yeah he almost burned down the house," Uncle Turtle joked, "tried to microwave a meal for forty minutes."

"Don't feed her lies!" Hurtle complained, taking the box from Uncle Turtle.

"Yeah, don't joke about that kind of stuff." I turned my head and saw Doublelift walking towards us, "Or else we might just have to change our minds about letting him stay with us," he grinned.

"Hurtle is going to stay with us?" I questioned. "Why wasn't I informed about this?"

"Sorry, it was kind of last minute," Doublelift apologized, helping Hurtle with his belongings. "He'll only be living here for about a week."

"Then why does he have so much stuff?" I asked. Doublelift smirked, "Who knows?" was all he said before he walked out of the door to help unload more boxes.

"Hurtle…" I muttered, looking at my best friend. He shrugged.

"Dad said we're moving to a smaller house since it's just the two of us," Hurtle said, "I didn't even know we would be moving until last night. I didn't have time to tell you since I was busy packing."

I bit my lip. I did think it was a bit strange that Hurtle wasn't gaming with us last night, but he said he had important business to attend to. He could have at least mentioned something.

"If you're moving, wouldn't you bring all of this stuff to your new place and not here?" I asked.

"You ask too many questions, Aph!" Doublelift said as he handed Hurtle another box.

"I just need to get the place set up before Hurtle joins me," Uncle Turtle grinned. "We all know he'll just get in the way and complain about how we don't have internet."

I laughed and Hurtle ignored his father. The adults continued to unload Uncle Turtle's car. I turned to Hurtle, realizing something.

"Does that mean you'll be moving further away?" I frowned. I quite enjoyed being able to walk over to his place whenever I felt like it.

"Don't know, he won't tell me anything," Hurtle handed me one of his suitcases. '_What does he know?_' I asked myself. This whole situation was strange. But all my speculations disappeared when Hurtle asked his next question. "So where am I staying?" he grinned. I rolled my eyes before bringing his suitcase to the stairs.

"I guess we'll be roommates for the next week," I smirked.

"It'll be like having a sleepover every day!" he exclaimed as we made our way to my bedroom.

"Yeah! I recently got a new nail polish, we can give each other manicures!" I said happily.

"What did I get myself into?" Hurtle groaned. I giggled at his reaction.

* * *

><p>That night I woke up feeling hungry. I left my bed, making sure not to trip over Hurtle who was sleeping on an air mattress and all the unopened boxes that littered my floor. My room was like a maze and one wrong step could lead me to greeting the floor.<p>

Successfully out of my room, I quietly made my way to the kitchen, trying to make as little noise as possible. I didn't want to wake anyone up.

"Yeah it was nice seeing you again."

I stopped dead in my tracks. '_Someone is awake?_'

Some laughter followed and I inched closer. The voice belonged to Doublelift. From the sound of it, he was on the phone with someone. Which wouldn't have been unusual except for the fact that it was almost three in the morning.

"Yeah, we should definitely have dinner again sometime." Well that explained why Doublelift didn't join us for dinner. After helping Hurtle move his stuff into the house, he said he had to go back to work, but he was clearly with someone. It could have been a coworker?

"No they don't know a thing." '_What don't we know?_'

"Zaqueri doesn't know about our meeting either," he informed the person. '_Doublelift is hiding this from Aphromoo too?_' my eyes widened. I almost turned around to leave until I heard my name.

"I think Stella was starting to get suspicious."

"No, no. Of course not. I think Jasper's appearance helped," he continued on. "He's distracting her…"

'_Is Hurtle keeping something from me?_' I questioned. However, I didn't have to wonder for long as I was immediately answered.

"No he doesn't know either…" '_At least my best friend is innocent_.' As innocent as Hurtle could be, anyways.

"I don't know how long I can keep this a secret," Doublelift complained.

"What about on your end? Does he know?" Doublelift asked. I just stood there, hidden in the shadows. I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but my curiosity got the best of me. To be fair, I almost left until I heard my name.

'_Is he talking to a woman?_' I speculated.

"I see… and he's okay with it?" Doublelift asked the mystery person. It seemed like the other person had a significant other.

"I should probably tell Zaqueri soon," Doublelift told the person, "…but it'll break his heart." I bit my lip to stop myself from gasping out loud.

"Alright, I'll wait a little longer," Doublelift agreed, "Okay, I'll give you a call tomorrow. Night."

As soon as I heard him hang up, I ducked into the living room. I listened for his footsteps and heard him walk past me and up the stairs.

After waiting a few minutes, I walked back to my bedroom. I completely forgot my original reason for going down to the kitchen.

I laid in bed, trying to piece together what I had heard. Doublelift was keeping something from all of us. He had dinner with someone, possibly a woman who had a partner? Except the woman told her partner about the meeting. Yet if Doublelift told Aphromoo about it, then it would break his heart? Was my father cheating on Aphromoo again?

I closed my eyes. People did say 'once a cheater, always a cheater', but I didn't understand. Everything was working out. I forgave my father only months ago and this was happening all over again?

I struggled to fall asleep. I couldn't block out my thoughts.

'_Is history going to repeat itself?_'

* * *

><p>I kept everything I heard that night a secret. I didn't even tell Hurtle when he asked me if I was okay the morning after. He noticed the bags under my eyes, but I just told him that I was so excited about him staying with us that I couldn't sleep. He seemed to accept my answer and continued to unpack some of his things.<p>

Since he was only here for a week, it didn't make sense for him to unpack everything. However, that didn't stop him from unpacking his desktop onto my coffee table.

"Is that really necessary?" I asked Hurtle.

"I can't stop! I need to keep my spot," Hurtle told me.

"But we already got our rewards," I reminded him. I managed to end the season in Diamond alongside Hades. Cyan ended up in Masters, while Hurtle and Adept both ended the season in Challenger.

"And right now it's the pre-season! No time to slack off!" Hurtle lectured me.

Since we've been so focused on climbing the Ranked Teams ladder, I only play enough solo queue to keep myself from decaying. Early next year the ladder will be locked and we have to make sure we qualify for the Spring Qualifiers. That is our only chance of making it into the Spring Challenger Series.

"Fine, fine. But my room, my rules," I glared at my best friend. He stopped setting up his new 'desk' space. "First, all meals are to be eaten downstairs…"

"But Aph!" Hurtle started to complain.

"No buts!" I held my glare.

'_But…_' the look on his face said.

'_What did I just say?_' I covered part of my face with my hand.

'_But what if I get hungry?!_' he gave me a pitiful look.

'_Then eat downstairs!_' I rolled my eyes as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

'_But solo queue!_' he tried to refute.

'_Can wait until after you've eaten… DOWNSTAIRS,_' I sighed.

'_But my first place!_' he continued to think of different arguments.

'_You won't lose it just because you go downstairs to eat for half an hour._' I rose an eyebrow. He wasn't really convincing.

'_You don't know that!_' Hurtle looked like I was torturing him.

'… _Fine. You can eat snacks, but that's it!' _I gave him my final offer. He took a moment to think about it before nodding.

"Is this how you guys plan on communicating with the rest of your team?" a voice spoke out. I jumped and turned around to see Aphromoo looking fairly amused.

"Dad! Knock or something!" I complained, as I placed a hand over my furiously beating heart.

"I did, but you guys were into your own world," Aphromoo laughed. I blushed slightly. "I thought I taught you to have better map awareness," he grinned.

"Ugh dad, no League references, please," I begged him.

"You're right!" Hurtle randomly shouted out from behind me. "As our support, she needs to keep up her map awareness!" he nodded his head.

"You're just saying that so you can focus on CSing," I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms. Hurtle gave me a sheepish grin.

"Gotta support your carry," Aphromoo agreed, sticking his tongue out at me when I gave him a glare.

"I don't know how I feel about my best friend and my father teaming up on me," I muttered, shaking my head.

"I thought you were the one who was excited about me staying here," Hurtle teased.

"I take it back! I want my room back!" I collapsed on my bed, defeated. "Alright Hurtle, you can sleep in the living room," I ordered, pointing at my door.

"Y-you're kicking me out?" Hurtle whimpered, dropping his empty backpack on the floor. "Y-you're abandoning me like my fath—ow!"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as I flung my pillow at him.

"Oh my goodness. Doublelift turned you into a drama queen," I complained, burying my face in my blanket. I felt something heavy land on my bed and felt an arm around me.

"Awh Aph!" Hurtle said from beside me. "You know you love me!"

Aphromoo cleared his throat and we both turned our attention over to him.

"As much as I love having you stay with us," Aphromoo gave us a forced grin, "Please realize that she's _my_ daughter," his voice sounded a little strained. "I know you guys have been friends ever since you guys were little, but please be aware that you two are growing up."

I rose an eyebrow at my father. Then I realized both Hurtle and I were on my bed with Hurtle's arm around me.

"But Dad! It's cold," I frowned, "and Hurtle's so warm!" I snuggled closer to my best friend. Hurtle's eyes widened as he switched his attention from my father to me and then back to my father.

"Aph! Don't tease your father," Hurtle hissed at me, "I don't want to die!" I rolled my eyes. There was nothing wrong with the position we were in. We were both lying on our stomachs, across my bed. The only thing that made it "strange" was Hurtle giving me a one arm hug. Which was nothing out of the usual.

"Oh you're here!" Aphromoo turned around and was greeted by Doublelift. "I was wondering why the house was so quiet," he continued, loosening his necktie. "What are you guys up to?" he asked before finally turning his attention to me and Hurtle. He just stared at us without saying anything. It was quiet in the room for a few moments before I decided I had enough.

"It's nothing dad," I groaned, removing myself from Hurtle and getting off my bed.

"But—" Doublelift started.

"We weren't doing anything inappropriate! You know Hurtle is like family," I sighed, walking towards my desk and turning on my desktop.

"Really Peter, it was nothing," Aphromoo backed me up even though he too got a little worked up earlier.

"Yeah Uncle Lift Lift," Hurtle said as he too left my bed. "It's the other two guys you have to worry about," he grinned.

"What do you mean?!" Doublelift and Aphromoo said at the same exact time.

I groaned, this was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p><strong>[Friday, 2 December 2039]<strong>

"Alright Aph, what's wrong?" Hurtle asked me after our game. Tonight was the last night Hurtle was supposed to be staying with us. Uncle Turtle called us earlier to let us know that the new house was set up for the both of them.

"Noth—" I began.

"And don't say nothing. There's obviously something bothering you. You've been acting strange all week!" Hurtle rose from his position and walked over to my bed.

"Alright, fine. Let's say bye first," I said, not looking at him. I told the trio that Hurtle and I were going to take a break. After some teasing from Cyan, I closed my client.

"My laning was terrible," I told him when I finally turned around.

"Aph…"

"What! It really was," I said earnestly.

"Well you're not wrong…"

"HURTLE!"

"What! You said it yourself!" he defended.

"I know," I stuck my tongue out at him and he threw Hunter at me. I caught my Poro and hugged him tightly. After a few minutes, I turned my attention back to my best friend who was waiting patiently – at least as patient as Hurtle could be. I could tell he was trying really hard.

"I think Doublelift is cheating on Aphromoo again," I finally told him.

He rose an eyebrow and looked confused until he realized that I wasn't joking.

"How do you know?" he asked me. I bit my lip, wondering how much I should tell him.

"I know he's having late night conversations with someone…"

"Maybe it's a relative in the States?" Hurtle suggested.

"He had dinner with that person the day you arrived!" I informed him.

"Maybe it was a coworker?" He looked doubtful. I didn't understand why he was trying to defend my father.

"He said that Aphromoo didn't know about the meeting and then he said something along the lines of 'it would break Aphromoo's heart'!"

"Aph, you're hurting Hunter," Hurtle told me. I widened my eyes as I realized I was squeezing my Poro.

"Sorry Hunter," I looked down at my Poro and placed him on my desk where I couldn't harm him any longer. I was feeling a bit tense.

"Did you talk to your dad about it?" Hurtle asked me.

"What am I supposed to say?" I asked him, feeling a bit helpless.

"Tell him you overheard his conversation," Hurtle shrugged.

"But…"

"Aph, I'll tell you this. You were a lot happier once you started to get along with Doublelift again," Hurtle told me his observation. Although I didn't show it, it was times like this I was glad Hurtle was my best friend. He was right, I was happier, but lately I've been feeling so anxious about everything.

"And I don't want to see you go back to hating him."

"Hating who?" my door swung open and both Doublelift and Aphromoo were standing there.

"What did I say about knocking?!" I complained, ignoring the question. I didn't want our parents to know we were talking about them. They didn't seem to notice.

"I told you Peter," Aphromoo sighed, "You get too excited about these things."

"Excited about what?" I asked.

"We're kicking you out!" Doublelift said happily. I just stared at him.

'_What?_'

* * *

><p>26/15


	20. House

_Disclaimer_: League of Legends belongs to Riot

* * *

><p>'<em>Did he just say what I think he said?<em>' I thought to myself. '_They're kicking me out of the house?_ _Is that even legal?_'

"That's not what he meant, hun," Aphromoo sighed, rubbing his temples. "Try again Peter."

"You're moving out!" Doublelift rephrased his earlier statement. I held my stare. I could sense that Hurtle had no clue what was going on either.

"Peter…" Aphromoo warned him.

"You're going to live with Jason?" Doublelift tried once more. Jason was Uncle Turtle's first name.

"Pardon?" I questioned. Hurtle was supposed to be the one leaving tomorrow morning, not me. Did my dad really want a son or something?

"Ugh I give up!" Doublelift threw his arms in the air, feeling defeated.

"Words Peter, use more words," Aphromoo encouraged him to try once more.

"I think he's at his limit," I joked, amused by how frustrated Doublelift was. If anything, I should be the one annoyed with this situation.

"Fine, I'll do it," Aphromoo sighed.

"Please do," Doublelift muttered, folding his arms.

"_Your father_…" Aphromoo put a clear emphasis on the fact that this was Doublelift's idea and not his, "decided that it would be best for you two to move into a gaming house in order to help your future careers." He glared at Doublelift before continuing.

"Since you guys are still young and in high school, Jason will be living with you guys as your caretaker," Aphromoo explained to us. He paused for us to react.

"Huh?" I could only stare at my parents.

"Peter decided it was a _good idea_ to go behind my back," Aphromoo said bluntly, "and arrange for your team to live together."

"I said I was sorry!" Doublelift interjected.

"Sorry doesn't mean you can take my baby away from me," Aphromoo glared at him, "and to have her live with a bunch of guys!"

"Their jungler is a girl?" Doublelift gave him a sheepish smile, "And she has Jasper to look after her!" His last statement didn't seem to make things better. Aphromoo clicked his tongue to show that he was not amused by this at all. "Jason will make sure they behave?" Doublelift tried once more to appease his partner.

"Dad, I think he's more mad about the fact that you didn't consult him first," I shook my head, giving my dad a pitiful look.

"He didn't tell me until I caught him giving Martin late night phone calls," Aphromoo said bitterly.

"You knew?" I asked surprised. Aphromoo rose his eyebrow, also looking surprised.

"And you?" he asked me. I looked away, cursing myself for my big mouth.

"I heard him on the phone one night…" I said hesitantly.

"See Aph! He's not cheating," Hurtle blurted out. I turned to my best friend and glared.

"You thought I was cheating?!" Doublelift cut in.

"I heard you say that Dad didn't know a thing about your meeting!" I said defensively, "And that if he knew, it would break his heart!"

"It did break my heart!" Aphromoo complained, placing his hands over his heart dramatically. "He's taking you away!" I smiled at Aphromoo. At least I knew someone was going to miss me. '_Unlike someone…_'

"Wait who is Martin?" I asked confused. I didn't know a Martin.

"Rekkles," Doublelift answered, "We used to talk a lot when we were younger."

"Adept's dad?" my eyes widened. I thought my father was cheating… with Adept's dad? I shuddered at the thought.

"What? He's not a bad guy," Doublelift said, misinterpreting my shudder.

"I'm sure he's not," I said dryly. "Though it doesn't change the fact you told him about your plan before you told dad," I smirked, bringing the attention back to what my father had done.

"See Peter! She understands!" Aphromoo pointed out.

"I said I was sorry!" Doublelift apologized once more. I giggled, my father gave us more dirt to use against him.

"Anyways, that's not the point!" Doublelift tried to change the subject, "The point is, all of their parents agreed that it would be ideal for you guys to live together to work on your team synergy. Your schools are only about half an hour away from each other, so education won't be a problem."

"So _you're_ the reason why Hurtle is moving," I accused my father.

"Not the point Aph!" Doublelift exasperated.

"Alright I think we can stop teasing your father," Aphromoo grinned.

"You're right, if anything, he should be apologizing to Hurtle," I agreed.

"I-I like my old house, Uncle Lift Lift," Hurtle shot Doublelift his puppy dog eyes.

"AH!" Doublelift groaned, throwing his arms into the air once more while leaving my room.

"Okay, he deserved that one," Aphromoo said once we were sure Doublelift was out of earshot.

"I don't really mind," Hurtle shrugged. I rolled my eyes, leave it to him to troll my dad.

"I'll go make sure he's fine," Aphromoo said, closing my door on his way out.

"Hurtle…" I said quietly.

"Hm Aph?" he rose an eyebrow.

"We're going to live with them," I said slowly. I was still taking all of this in.

"Ah crap. Now I have to see Cyan every day," he groaned, collapsing on my bed. "Why didn't I just go to Korea," he muttered, banging his head on my pillow.

"… doesn't that mean I have to room with her?" I asked him. We were the only two girls and assuming we didn't get our own rooms…

"Well your life sucks," Hurtle laughed at me.

"It's okay, if you room with Adept, we both know where she'll be," I grinned at him. His eyes widened when he figured out what I was implying.

"WE'RE ROOMING TOGETHER," Hurtle declared.

"I don't think that's how it works," I smirked though I wouldn't mind rooming with my best friend.

"But my sanity!" Hurtle complained.

"Your sanity will be fine, now help me pack."

"Yes mother," he sighed. "Hey!"

At least he caught Hunter.

* * *

><p>"Is that it?" Aphromoo asked me as the rest of the guys helped carry my things into the new gaming house. They lied when they said Hurtle would be moving into a small apartment. This house was bigger than their old one.<p>

"Yep, that should be it, thanks dad," I smiled at him. He gave me a hug.

"Hey! We're the ones who carried your things," Doublelift complained.

"You're also the reason why you have to carry her things," Aphromoo reminded him. It didn't seem like Doublelift was going to be let off anytime soon.

"… I'm going to check the car to make sure we didn't leave anything," Doublelift excused himself and hurried out.

"I'm going to miss you, hun," Aphromoo said, giving me a tight squeeze.

"D-dad—can't breathe," I complained and he loosened his hold. "I'm going to miss you too dad, but you do know I'm not moving far away from home," I rose an eyebrow. My house was about a fifteen minute drive from the gaming house. "If you're like this now, how are you going to react when I move away for college," I smirked.

"Too soon Aph," Aphromoo's eyes widened, "Way too soon!"

"Just sayin' Dad," I shrugged.

"Aph!"

"Alright, alright. No more talking about the C-word," I gave Aphromoo another quick hug before checking out my new room. He took this as an opportunity to check out the rest of the house.

"I call the window!" I yelled out to no one, dropping some of my things on the bed closest to the window. I would be sharing this room with Cyan. I closed my eyes and prayed that we would get along.

"I get my own room!" I opened my eyes and looked over to my best friend who was grinning.

"Really?"

"Yeah, since this is technically still my house," he smirked. "Hades and Adept will be rooming together, and my dad and I will have our own rooms." That was quite fortunate. '_For him._'

"Speaking of the others, when do they arrive?" I asked him curiously.

"Tomorrow, dad wanted to give us a day to settle in before we get our new housemates," Hurtle informed me. I smiled, Uncle Turtle was really considerate.

"So they knew already?"

"No. Part of the reason for them moving in tomorrow is that they're finding out today!" Hurtle said enthusiastically.

"I'm not going on League," I informed him before I started to unpack.

"I'm…" Hurtle paused for a moment, "going to play Hearthstone," he nodded, agreeing that it probably wasn't a good idea to log on tonight.

"But your rank!" I gasped, looking at him mortified.

"Please Aph, it's only the pre-season."

"Says the person who had to play League as soon as he moved into my room," I rose an eyebrow.

"That was before! Gosh Aph, you need to stop clinging onto the past," he joked, helping me move my things. "Computer goes downstairs," he informed me. Everyone would be using their own computers to practice on. We weren't an official challenger team despite being second on the ladder. There was still some time before the ladder froze. That also meant we had zero sponsors aside from our parents.

However, I had faith in Uncle Turtle's managing skills. We just had to do our part and he would do his.

Hurtle and I spent the next few hours unpacking and organizing our rooms – well at least my side of the room. I was hanging some of my clothes when I heard a knock on the door. I turned my head to see Doublelift standing there.

"Hey dad," I greeted, putting my clothes down and walked over to him. As soon as I reached him, he pulled me into a hug.

"You're going to do great," he said, planting a kiss on my head.

"Yeah I better," I giggled, "otherwise dad is going to kill you."

"That too," he agreed. "But you know Aph," he started, releasing me from his hold, "Regardless of whether you make it to LCS, Worlds, or whatever, just know that we're both really proud of you."

"Daddd," I groaned, "None of this mushy stuff!"

"It's true though!" he laughed, messing up my hair. I rolled my eyes annoyed. "Oh yeah, before we leave, we have to lay down some rules."

"…" I stared at my father.

"No boys in the room,"

"DAD!"

"Okay fine, Hurtle can enter since I trust him, but no boys after ten—"

"DAD," I groaned, covering my eyes. We were not going to have this talk.

"Fine, you can have boys as long as Hurtle is there to—"

"Please stop," I cut him off. He frowned.

"This father thing isn't as easy as it seems," he mutters. '_Clearly_' I rose an eyebrow. Especially if he was willing to compromise. If it was Aphromoo, it would have been a straight up no.

"You're just fortunate that the only guy I ever bring over is Hurtle," I smirked. His eyes widened.

"There are other guys?!"

I blinked, realizing what I just said. "Er, dad, don't you have to go now?" I asked, pushing him out of my room.

"Don't ignore the question!" he complained, but I was already making my way down the stairs where everyone else was. Aphromoo was talking to Uncle Turtle when they saw me hurry down.

"Hey Aph," my dad grinned, opening his arms for a hug.

"Aph!" Doublelift said, coming down the stairs.

"I'm going to miss you guys!" I blurted out, burying my face in Aphromoo's embrace.

"We'll miss you too Aph," Aphromoo chuckled, "Ready to go Peter?" he asked his partner.

"Yes, but –"

"Alright let's go," Aphromoo said, letting me go and opening the front door. Doublelift sighed as he put on his shoes.

"Don't think we're done with that conversation, missy," Doublelift warned me before following Aphromoo out of the door. I sighed in relief when my parents left. I saw Uncle Turtle give me an amused look and I just shrugged.

"He was trying to stop Hurtle from entering my room, and we both know how well that'll work," I said, only telling him half the truth. Uncle Turtle laughed in response.

"You guys finish unpacking and I'll start on dinner," he told me. I nodded before racing back up the stairs. As soon as I got into my room, I collapsed on my bed. I pulled Hunter close and sighed.

"Is it too late to back out?" I asked him. He just grinned at me.

* * *

><p>31/15

Sorry for the short chapter, but school has been hectic (and I've been lazy) :( at least I'll be at IEM Katowice & EU LCS soon 3 so I probably won't post the next chapter until after those events. Thanks for reading ^o^)/


	21. Extra: Battle

The ground was shaking.

"Hurtle, do you feel that?" I asked my best friend. He rose his eyebrow and gave me a confused look.

"Feel what?" he asked me.

I felt the ground shake once more.

"The ground is shaking," I informed him.

"You're just imagining things," he chuckled. I furrowed my eyebrows.

The shaking had stopped.

"I guess you're right," I agreed, letting out a nervous laugh. '_Just imagining things_.'

"Hey guys," a voice greeted us. It was the voice of our team captain. I turned and spotted the rest of the team heading over to us.

"Morning," I responded. Cyan folded her arms and said nothing in return. Hades gave us a smile.

"What's up?" Adept asked.

"Aph is hallucinating," Hurtle joked. I retaliated by slapping his arm. "Violence!" he cried out, but I just rolled my eyes. He deserved it.

"Don't listen to him," I told them.

"Oh, why so?" Cyan asked Hurtle, ignoring my request. She looked rather amused.

"She thinks the ground is shaking," Hurtle smirked. I frowned at my best friend, but I knew he wouldn't give up the opportunity to tease me.

"I swear I felt it!" I defended myself. They all just laughed, minus Hades who kept his smile plastered on his face. I crossed my arms and pouted.

The ground started to shake once more.

"Don't tell me you guys can't feel it!" I complained.

"Really Aph? An earthquake in Berlin?" Adept questioned me. He rose an eyebrow and looked at me curiously.

"You believe me, don't you Hades?" I turned to my last hope.

"Well…" he started hesitantly. I groaned and threw my hands up in the air.

"I swear I'm not crazy!" I proclaim.

"Is she acting?" I heard Adept whisper to Hurtle. "Is this a joke?"

Hurtle only shrugged, clearly not knowing the answer.

All of a sudden, the strength of the tremors and the frequency of them increased. Cyan was the first to fall over.

"W-what was that?" she asked, sitting on the floor. Her eyes were widened.

"See! I'm not imagining things!" I retorted, trying to keep my balance.

The guys all looked at each other, trying to think of what to say.

"Earthqua—" Adept began, but he was cut off by a loud voice.

"METEOS, USE EARTHQUAKE!"

'_What?_' I felt my eye twitch. Suddenly it got darker as we were overshadowed by something. I looked up to find the source and my eyes widened.

"G-giant?!" Hurtle pointed at the large being. Glooming over us in his Cloud9 jacket stood one of the original members, their jungler – Meteos.

Before we could react, he stomped on the ground and the rest of us fell over. He continued his stomping and we all tried to cling onto the ground.

My body couldn't handle it and I was greeted by darkness.

* * *

><p>"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET!" the former Cloud9 jungler yelled out as he mashed on the buttons of his gaming console.<p>

"All I wanted was a more significant part!" he pointed at his opponent. "But all I got was a mention in chapter 6!"

"Will?" the ex-professional gamer looked up to see his former top laner looking at him, concerned.

"What's up?" Meteos replied nonchalantly.

"Are you battling against… a poro?" Balls asked slowly.

"Don't you mean, aren't you winning against a poro?" Meteos grinned. Balls slowly nodded his head and pursed his lips.

"Alright. Just wanted to know," he said before turning around and walking out of their bedroom. There was definitely something wrong with his partner, but Balls decided to wait until Meteos was ready to talk about it.

"Aw he's jealous," Meteos said, misinterpreting Balls's reaction. He thought Balls was jealous because he was playing with someone else.

"If he wanted to play, all he had to do was ask," Meteos complained, turning his attention back to his opponent. "I'll make it up to him later," he smirked.

Hunter just looked at Meteos with his tongue sticking out as he hid behind his console.

"Aw c'mon, you're going to get it all over your screen!"

* * *

><p>0401/15

Just a quick, fun chapter before I make my next trip. I'll be pretty busy for the rest of the week, but hopefully by next week I'll have time to write the next 'actual' chapter :P Thanks for reading!


	22. Moved In

**[Sunday, 4 December 2039]**

"Aph, wake up." A voice commanded me.

"Wake up." It said once more, but I ignored it. '_I don't want to_,' I mentally argued back.

"Wake up." It repeated again. '_Go away!_'

"YO WAKE UP WOMAN!"

I jolted up, my eyes were wide open, but they closed as quickly as they opened.

"What the hell," I mumbled. I squinted as I tried to take in my surroundings. Everything was so bright. I closed my eyes again, briefly.

"Finally." I was reminded that I wasn't alone. Why did it feel like no one ever wanted me to sleep anymore? If I had a Euro for every time I woke up with someone in my room, I could probably afford a lot of cheesecake. _A lot_.

"Aph you there?" A hand waved in front of my face.

I looked to my right and saw my best friend standing there. He looked slightly amused as he retracted his hand.

"Hurtle?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I knew Hurtle wanted me to get out of bed, but I didn't want to leave its comfort.

"Yes Aph?" he responded.

"Good night," I said before collapsing on my bed once more. A small grin was planted on my face that I tried really hard to hide. I knew this would only further annoy him.

"Oh no you don't," Hurtle groaned, tugging my arm. I found this situation rather amusing. I didn't expect Hurtle to be awake before me especially since we spent all of yesterday unpacking and getting situated.

"Why can't I sleep?" I complained, letting my body go limp to give him a hard time. If he wanted to disturb my sleep, then I was going to make him work for it.

"Because the others are arriving in half an hour," he informed me.

"Well they can go f— WAIT IN HALF AN HOUR?" I yelled out, sitting up once more. Hurtle rolled his eyes and I smacked him on the arm in response.

"Ow—hey! I just said that Einstein," he murmured, rubbing his arm. I groaned and fell back once more.

"Do they have to?" I whined. Hurtle smirked.

"What? Not ready to see your new roommate?" he teased me. I bit my lip and looked at Hunter. If only he was a real person who was rooming with me. "Plus, my replacement is coming too," Hurtle pouted. I looked at him confused.

"Your replacement?" I questioned. He just nodded. It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about.

"Are you still jealous about us duo queuing?" I giggled.

"Yes," he said bluntly, but I could tell he was joking.

"Aw, you know you're the only partner for me!" I reassured him, "It's not my fault you cheated on me," I whacked his arm playfully.

"I didn't cheat on you!" Hurtle tried to defend himself.

"Who left me all alone to do late night solo queue?" I smirked.

"You were sleeping?"

"That's like telling Doublelift its okay to have late night phone calls with Adept's father because Aphromoo is sleeping," I reminded him of last week's events. "And we all know how well that went."

"Yeah, Lift Lift probably had to sleep on the couch once you moved out," Hurtle laughed and I nodded in agreement. "Now let's go downstairs for breakfast, Dad is almost done cooking."

"Alright, but first—" I removed my covers and slid off my bed. "Out," I pointed at my open door before opening my closet to pull out some clothes.

"Alright, alright," Hurtle held his hands up and walked out. I smirked as he closed the door behind him.

"Five more minutes," I whispered before returning back to the warmth of my bed.

* * *

><p>Hurtle and I were busy stuffing ourselves when the doorbell rang. We were both late to breakfast since my five minutes turned into twenty and Hurtle had to come back upstairs to retrieve me. We glanced at each other and swallowed whatever we were chewing.<p>

'_You get it_.'

'_Don't want to_,' he replied.

'_It's your house!'_ I pursed my lips. He only glared in return.

"You guys look like you've frozen from terror," Uncle Turtle laughed, breaking our trance. "_I'll_ open the door," he said as if he was reading our minds. We watched him leave the kitchen and waited a few seconds for the door to open.

"Hey Jason," a voice said.

"Hi Hai, long time no see," Uncle Turtle responded.

"Ready to face the music?" Hurtle asked me the question I was dreading. I used my fork to push my scrambled eggs around the plate back and forth before scooping them up.

"Cards in your room?" I suggested before finishing the rest of my food.

"Down," Hurtle agreed with me and we both brought our plates to the sink. We started walking quietly to the stairs.

"Aph! Hurtle! Come say hello!" We heard Uncle Turtle call out by the time we were already halfway up the stairs. My left eye twitched, '_We were so close_.'

When we reached the front door only Hades was there. I sighed in relief.

"Hey Hades, where are the others?" Hurtle asked him.

"They're going to be late, Cyan didn't finish packing yesterday," he informed us.

"Go figure," Hurtle rolled his eyes. I stifled a giggle behind my hand.

"C'mon, let's help Hades with his stuff," I told Hurtle and he frowned.

"What happened to cards?" he asked, pouting.

"When the others arrive, we'll go play cards," I grinned. It took Hurtle a moment to realize that the only reason we were going to play cards was to avoid Cyan when she was moved in.

"Right. I'll go grab some boxes. Aph, show him his room," Hurtle smirked, giving me a quick wink behind Hades's back before he walked out the door. I rose an eyebrow, confused. Hurtle and I were pretty good when it came to reading each other, but there were times when I didn't understand him. I decided to shrug it off and walked up the stairs to show Hades his room.

"You'll be sharing this room with Adept," I said as I opened his bedroom door, "And next door is my room, which I'll be sharing with Cyan," I nudged towards the direction of my room before entering his.

"Hurtle isn't staying with us?" Hades asked as he proceeded to choose his side of the room.

"Nope. It's technically his house so he gets his own room," I told him, taking a seat on his bed. Hades only nodded in response as he gazed around the room. After that it became quiet, but it was a comfortable silence. It gave me some time to think about the living situation. I was an only child so I never had to share a room with anyone before, unless you counted Hurtle when he slept over.

"What's wrong?" Hades spoke quietly, I looked up to see him staring at me. I gave him a small smile. He was very observant.

"Just thinking about the house," I answered.

"Worried about rooming with Cyan?" he inquired.

"I don't know why you have to ask if you already know," I laughed. He let out a soft chuckle.

"It'll be fine. She's not that bad of a person once you get to know her," he assured me. I frowned.

"Does she always immediately dislike the people she meets?" I asked. He took a moment to think about his answer.

"Only if she finds them a threat," he answered simply. I opened my mouth to ask him what he meant, but we were interrupted.

"You didn't bring much, but man is this heavy," Hurtle complained as he came through the door and handed the box over to Hades.

"I don't need much," Hades shrugged. He opened the box which was filled with books.

"No wonder why it weighed a ton…" Hurtle mumbled as he eyed the books. My eyes lit up as I saw them, but I stayed where I was. My reaction didn't go unnoticed by Hurtle who gave me a smirk.

"Aph likes to read a lot too," he announced. Hades looked at me, but didn't say anything.

"Only a little…" I mumbled, not wanting the attention to shift over to me.

"Tch. She prefers reading over hanging out with me! Her best friend!" Hurtle whined.

"Anyone would prefer reading to hanging out with you," I teased. Hurtle stuck his tongue out at me.

"Hades! She's bullying me," Hurtle whined. "You don't believe that, do you?"

Hades looked slightly uncomfortable and avoided Hurtle's gaze, "Well…"

"Okay. I see how it is, I'm going to bring the rest up," Hurtle cut him off.

"Let me help," Hades offered, moving away from his box of books.

"Nah, its fine."

"I insist," Hades said, stepping out of the room. Hurtle nodded and followed Hades out the door.

"Be back, Aph!" Hurtle called out. I waited a few seconds to make sure that they were gone before I left the bed. I inched over to the box of books and peered in. I scanned the titles until one of them caught my eye and picked up the book. It was titled "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close".

"One look couldn't hurt…" I muttered as I took a seat on the bed closest to me and began to read.

* * *

><p>"How long has she been sitting there?"<p>

"Probably a couple of hours."

"Has she been reading the whole time?"

"Yeah. We called her name a few times, but she completely ignored us."

"I've never seen her so focused."

"We should throw something at her."

"Not unless you want that book she's holding to come flying at us."

"…"

"Yeah… I've learned it's better to just let her be."

"But I have to make my bed."

"If she stays like this, you and Aph can switch for the night."

"Sounds like a good idea!"

"Just don't do anything dirty on her bed!"

"S-shut up Hurtle."

"Hey! Her parents trusted me to look after her!"

"Well, there's always Cyan's bed."

"A-Adept!"

"Ew. I don't want to know."

"…"

"I was just kidding Cy."

I felt my eye twitch in annoyance. I don't know what they were talking about, but they were loud.

"Maybe I should poke her."

"It's your finger man."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you'll be point blank for whatever she does."

"Sounds like I should never get Aph mad." The statement was followed by a laugh.

I peered up from my book for the first time since I started reading. I saw the rest of my teammates standing at the foot of the bed, chatting. Cyan had a faint blush on her cheeks. Hurtle and Adept looked like they were bantering and Hades just stood there quietly observing. I sighed, it didn't seem like they were going to leave anytime soon. I scooted off the bed, and walked to the exit. At least I'd be able to continue reading in my room without their loud voices.

"Hey Aph!" I was stopped when my best friend called me. "What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I said sarcastically, "I'm leaving." That immediately told Hurtle that I wasn't in the mood to talk. Unfortunately, the others didn't seem to get the memo.

"But we haven't seen each other in forever!" Adept whined. Cyan rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I guess you're right…" I sighed, coming back into the room. Adept grinned at Hurtle triumphantly. I rose an eyebrow and Hurtle gave me a quick glance. '_Ah_.'

"Hey Adept, Cyan," I greeted. I then turned to Hades. "Sorry for taking your book without asking," I apologized. I almost forgot that it wasn't mine.

"No worries, feel free," Hades told me. I smiled appreciatively.

"Thanks," I said before glancing over at Hurtle who gave me a slight nod. "Alright then… bye!" I quickly left the room.

"Wait what?!" I heard Adept say.

"I told you I'd win the bet," Hurtle responded. I shook my head as I heard that. '_I'll interrogate him later_.' I thought as I walked into my bedroom. I looked around and noticed that Cyan already moved all of her things in.

"How long have I been reading?" I muttered to myself.

"About four hours."

I jumped and turned around when I heard the unexpected voice.

"Sorry Aph."

"Hmph. And to think I helped you," I complained, hitting my best friend with my book. It didn't faze him.

"Well thanks to your help, Adept is cooking us dinner tonight," Hurtle smirked.

"He can cook?" I questioned.

"Don't know, but it's probably better than my cooking," Hurtle shrugged. I pursed my lips as I thought about Adept cooking.

"What was the bet anyways?" I asked curiously.

"I told him he wouldn't be able to make you leave the book to come hang out with us," Hurtle shrugged. "He didn't believe me so we made the bet."

"Ah. So he got himself in a lose-lose situation," I giggled.

"Yeah—hey!"

"You know it's true," I teased. Adept either had to cook dinner or try Hurtle's food.

"I know, but it still hurts," Hurtle pouted, placing his hands over where his heart would be.

"Anyways, is everyone moved in?" I asked.

"Almost. Adept couldn't make his bed because you were sitting on it."

I felt my cheeks get a little warm. "Why didn't anyone tell me?!"

"We tried. But, book, remember?" Hurtle pointed to the forgotten item in my hand.

"Right..." I looked down. I had my finger bookmarking the page I left off at. "I guess this means it's time for you to leave."

"What? Why?"

"Book, remember?" I repeated his earlier words and held the book up.

"But cards!" Hurtle complained.

"That was for when they were moving in," I reminded him, "but it looks like Cyan is all moved in."

"Damn. Fine, I'm going to go steal away your duo partner," Hurtle joked.

"So unfaithful," I gasped.

"That book is a home wrecker!" he pointed at the book in my hand. I glanced at it and frowned.

"I have to admit, it was one seductive book," I sighed, giving it a longing look.

"Put it down Aph! While we still have the chance to mend our relationship," Hurtle begged me. I looked at him before looking back at the book.

"But…"

"Don't you see what it's doing to us?!" Hurtle cried out.

"You're right," I grimaced and looked away from the book before dropping it on my bed.

"I knew you'd choose me!" Hurtle grinned, opening his arms wide. I rolled my eyes before accepting his hug.

"Was there even a doubt in your mind?"

"Well…"

"Oh shut it," I poked his stomach and he recoiled from the hug, clutching his stomach. "Let's go downstairs and join the others."

"Race you down!" Hurtle said, quickly leaving my room. I didn't bother chasing after my best friend since I knew there was no way I was going to beat him. I gave the book one more glance before leaving my room.

'_I'll finish reading it tonight._'

* * *

><p>0415/2015


	23. Routine

**[Friday, 16 December 2039]**

As soon as everyone was settled into the new gaming house, we all fell into a routine.

Every morning I woke up to Cyan's quiet snores, knowing that her alarm clock will go off exactly three times before she turned it off. This gave me enough time to get ready before she made her way to our shared bathroom.

Hades was always the first team member downstairs, generally sharing a cup of coffee with Uncle Turtle who had earlier cooked us breakfast. Uncle Turtle would finish his cup and then leave for his day job. This left both Hades and me to help ourselves to the food before the other three came wandering downstairs. Hurtle always appeared a bit disheveled and half asleep. On the other hand, Adept generally looked slightly sore which I found out later from Hades was because Cyan usually woke him up by jumping onto his bed.

"_It's one of the reasons why I'm always downstairs first… It gets a little awkward at times_,"_ Hades told me._

Then there was Cyan who looked happy with a slight blush on her face. Probably from the teasing that came from Adept.

Once everyone was done with breakfast, we all left for our respective schools. Hurtle and I walked to ours while Hades drove the rest of them to theirs. He had offered to drop us off, but we told him we were used to it. Our walks to school and back were usually my 'best friend bonding time' with Hurtle. We didn't have that much free time to hang out with just the two of us now that we lived with the others.

When everyone returned home from school, we grabbed a snack before getting into some ranked 5's. We spent time in between games talking about strategy and things we had to work on. Then two hours before dinner, we stopped playing to do whatever homework we had or study. It was really important that we kept up our grades.

Dinner was usually cooked by Uncle Turtle and we would all eat together. Adept and Uncle Turtle generally talked about our team practice and Uncle Turtle would give us his input. Since he was a former professional, he has a lot of experience with the problems we were dealing with.

After dinner was when everyone played some solo queue (or Twisted Treeline). I started to duo with Hurtle more once I reached Masters to work on our bot lane synergy. Around ten o'clock the last games were played and then we were all off League. Uncle Turtle was very adamant about this rule because he didn't want us to burn out before we even made it into the Challenger Series. Our official 'bedtime' was at midnight, so we found other things to do during that time.

Usually you could find Cyan and Hades watching anime. Hurtle and Adept would occasionally go out for nightly jogs or play some first person shooters (they were always on opposing teams). But I took the opportunity to spend some time by myself. Living with everyone was still a bit overwhelming for me.

I was sitting outside on the front porch, reading under a dim light when Hurtle and Adept returned from their jog.

"Aph!" Hurtle called out as they neared. "You're going to get sick if you stay out here." I could sense the worry in his voice.

"I won't be out here for long, just wanted some fresh air," I told him.

"She'll be fine," Adept said. Hurtle didn't look like he believed him, but didn't argue.

"I'll go inside soon," I promised, hoping to appease my best friend.

"Fine, don't stay out too long. You need to come inside so I can smash you in Hearthstone," Hurtle smirked.

"Don't get so cheeky!" I stuck my tongue out at my best friend.

"Then beat me!" he grinned, entering the house before I could retort.

"Tch…" I pouted. Adept laughed at our silly exchange. "Have a nice jog?" I asked him.

"Yeah. It's nice having a jogging partner," he nodded.

"Oh please, I bet you two are just competing to see who has the most stamina," I rolled my eyes.

"That too," Adept grinned, "We're rivals for everything."

"Ha. I can imagine you two fighting over the same girl," I teased.

"We are," he said simply.

I blinked, not expecting that response. My eyes widened when I thought about it. Hurtle liked Cyan? My hand flew up and covered my mouth. Well that could explain the…

"Just kidding Aph," Adept laughed, "Man your reaction was hilarious."

My jaw dropped a little as I could only gape at him. "That wasn't funny!" I cried out, swinging my book at him. He dodged it easily and that only made him laugh more. "Hmph," I crossed my arms and looked away from him. "I'm going inside so you can't bully me anymore," I told him as I got up from my spot.

"No wait," Adept stopped me by placing a hand on my arm. "Let's talk a bit," he suggested, taking a seat next to me. I looked at him suspiciously but complied.

"Alright then, what do you want to talk about?" I asked him. He shrugged and that only made me more suspicious.

"I don't know. Well I guess I meant to say that I don't really know much about you," Adept glanced at me. "I know Cyan well because we grew up together. I know Hades because he's my best friend and I know Hurtle because we're rivals, but I don't really know anything about you."

"I like having the element of surprise," I smirked.

"You won't be a mystery for much longer!" Adept declared.

"Oh? What makes you say that?" I ask curiously.

"A hunch?" Adept guessed.

"You're relying on your instincts?" I questioned.

"They haven't failed me yet!"

"I guess not, seeing as you're still alive," I agreed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Adept looked confused. I grinned at him as I thought about my best friend. If Hurtle was here, he'd say it was a miracle that Adept survived Cyan for such a long time. It wasn't that I disliked Cyan or anything, but it seemed like Hurtle was rubbing off on me.

"I see. Still trying to stay mysterious by not telling me." I nodded in response. In reality I was just too busy imagining the situation, but he didn't have to know that. "C'mon Aph."

"I don't really know much about you," I retorted.

"It's not my fault you fell asleep during my story time," Adept smirked, bringing up our first meeting. I cringed at the thought.

"It's not my fault you put me to sleep!" I defended, but he laughed. It didn't seem like he believed me.

"Sure, it was _my fault_ you fell asleep."

"I'm glad we agree on something," I stuck my tongue out at him. It was his turn to roll his eyes.

"Ha ha," he muttered, "But really Aph, since we know nothing about each other…"

"I know your name?" I interrupted him.

"That doesn't count!" Adept pouted, "But as I was saying… why don't we play 21 questions?"

"Really? You want to play a game?" I rose an eyebrow.

"We're both gamers and we're both trying to get to know each other, so it seems appropriate," Adept explained his reasoning.

"We play video games, not question games," I shook my head, "but alright, since you're so _insistent_that we get to know each other, you can go first."

"Favorite color?" Adept threw out.

"You're kidding me, right?" I looked at him in disbelief.

"What? We're starting out easy and slow," he defended.

"Alright then. My favorite color is China Rose," I answered.

"What?"

"It's a shade of purple."

"Your favorite color isn't red or pink?"

"What? No. Why would you think that?"

"Aphrodite? Goddess of Love?" he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Irrelevant."

"Okay fine. My favorite color is blue."

"How generic."

"I'm a simple guy. I don't have a _fancy_ color like you do."

"Peasant," I mutter under my breath.

"Sorry your highness," he grinned at me. "Now you ask a question."

"Hmm…" I tapped my index finger on my lip as I thought about what to ask.

"Don't think too hard," Adept teased. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Why did you want to go pro?" I asked.

"If you keep asking questions like this, Hurtle is going to kill me."

"If you keep stalling, Hurtle will definitely kill you," I pointed out.

"Touché," he nodded his head in agreement. "Alright, but first put on my jacket. Don't want you getting sick," he said as he took off his jacket and tossed it on my lap.

"But you'll get cold!" I complained. I had a sweater on which was a lot more than just his t-shirt.

"I'll be fine," he insisted. I let out a dramatic sigh before putting it on.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"Alright so it all started when my parents took me to my first LCS game when I was six…" he started his story.

"You knew you wanted to go pro when you were six," I repeated.

"Aph! Let me tell my story!"

"Sorry sorry."

"Anyways, as I was saying before I was _rudely_ interrupted…" he smirked. I stuck my tongue out at him once more, but didn't say anything. "… My parents took me to my first LCS game and during the first game I fell asleep." He paused and waited for me to finish giggling.

"But my parents woke me up just as the game was ending. The audience was cheering and the winning team looked so happy. They all jumped out of their seats and their fans crowded in front of the stage to get a high five. That was when I knew I wanted to become a pro," Adept finished. "Oh and after the second game, I begged my parents to let me run up there to high five the pros," he added.

"Awww!" I squealed, imagining the scene in my head.

"Yeah, I was pretty cute."

"Uh huh."

"You can ask Cyan!" he sounded a little offended. I didn't want to tell him that Cyan would be completely biased, so I just smiled at him.

"Since you already know my story, it's your turn to ask," I told him, changing the topic.

"If you were stranded on an island with one of us, who would it be?"

"Hurtle," I answered immediately. '_Seriously… these questions_.'

"Excluding Hurtle."

"Hades," I answered in the same speed. I was pretty close with Hades from all the duo queuing.

"… Excluding Hades?"

I took a moment to think about it. If I was stuck on an island with Cyan, I'd probably die. If I was stuck on an island with Adept, Cyan would probably still find a way to kill me.

"Uncle Turtle," I concluded.

"He doesn't even count!" Adept exclaimed.

"Fine…" I sighed, thinking about it. The obvious answer would be to say Adept, but… "Cyan."

"…" the look on his face was priceless.

"She wouldn't make me play question games," I shrugged, rolling my shoulders.

"Well you weren't my first choice either!" he shot back.

"Real mature," I giggled. This time he stuck his tongue out at me.

"I'd probably choose Hurtle too."

"Back off, he's_ mine_," I said overprotectively, crossing my arms.

"I bet I could steal him," he challenged. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Your turn to ask!" he said quickly before I could retort.

"Team. Sleep. Marry. Kill. Go." I said, remembering the question from a video I watched.

"…" Adept looked a little conflicted. "I'm not gay, Aph."

"That wasn't my question, Adept," I rose an eyebrow.

"I know," he fidgeted, "b-but…"

"You're the one who wanted to play this game," I rose an eyebrow.

"Fine," he sighed, "Hades. You. Hurtle."

"In that order?"

"In that order," he confirmed. It got quiet after that. '_Okay, maybe that wasn't the best question.'_

"Not Cyan?"

"That's like sleeping with my sister!"

"I didn't say you had to sleep with her," I smirked. He could have easily replaced any one of us with her name.

However… poor Cyan. Adept had brought it up before, but Hurtle and I thought he was just in denial. He probably still was.

"Do you like Hurtle?" Adept asked, changing the subject.

"Of course I do." Again, what was with these obvious questions?

"I mean like-like." Oh.

"Ah…" So he was throwing my own question back at me. Hurtle was like a brother, but most importantly he was my best friend. Sure our parents _joked _about us getting married in the future… but we were only 17. We had plenty of time.

"Maybe one day," I shrugged.

"What do you mean by 'one day'" he made air quotes.

"He's special to me. I think that if I'm still single by the time I'm in my late twenties, I'd consider it."

"So he's like your back up?"

"I guess you can put it like that."

"Isn't that a bit harsh?"

"Nah, I'm sure he feels the same way."

"How do you know that?"

"We've talked about it, briefly," I admitted. It was during one of my mental breakdowns about the future. I started spurting a bunch of nonsense and Hurtle was trying his best to calm me down. The topic sort of came up and we decided we'd be each other's back up. This way we wouldn't be alone for the rest of our lives.

"Would you marry Cyan if you were in that situation?" I asked.

"What, you don't think I'll find myself a wife?" Adept joked.

"I_ guess_ you're capable…"

"Ouch. The doubt hurts, Aph."

"You haven't answered."

"Do I have to answer?"

"It's my next question."

"I-it would probably make her happy," he said quietly. So he did know. '_Guess he's not as dense as we thought he was_…'

"That doesn't exactly answer my question. Does she know that you know?"

"No."

"And you're not interested?"

"I told you she's like a sister."

"Hurtle is like my brother," I pointed out.

"It's different."

"Oh really? How so?" I asked curiously. It seemed like the same exact situation to me.

"She… has always struggled to make new friends. I grew up with her so I was always there and I guess she figured that it was enough. But I want her to make new friends, to 'spread her wings' ya know?" Adept gave me a small smile, "The team was supposed to be one of the ways for her to make friends."

"Look, I know she hasn't been the nicest to you and Hurtle, but I know she's trying. She told you guys her backstory, and that's more than she's ever told anyone. She never had time for friends."

I stayed quiet. Even though I've known Cyan for months now, I didn't really know her. I didn't even really know Adept. We even had that first meeting where we had 'real talk' (even though I did fall asleep during Adept's story…). My parents had told me that when they first joined their team it was all work. They didn't know much about their other teammates even though they were considered as friends. That put a strain in their teamwork and friendships. Hell, Doublelift even thought that Aphromoo's favorite food was hot Cheetos for the longest time.

"I'll come inside soon she said!" the front door opened. "Don't worry Hurtle, I won't stay out too long. I'm just getting fresh air, not trying to get sick, nope."

I rolled my eyes. Leave it to Hurtle to interrupt the moment.

"Sorry Hurtle," I said sheepishly when my best friend stepped out with his arms crossed.

"No, it was my fault for keeping her out here," Adept said, getting off the ground and offering me his hand. I took it and he pulled me up.

"I trusted you with her!" Hurtle said in mock horror.

"At least I gave her my jacket?"

"Hm… I guess that's fine, for now."

I rolled my eyes, there goes Hurtle's dad mode.

"Ha. Ha," I scoffed, "Let's just go inside." I pushed Hurtle back into the house. "Oh, and Adept? I feel the same way, thanks for telling me," I smiled at him. I'll try my best to be friends with Cyan.

"W-wait what?! What are you talking about Aph?" Hurtle complained.

"Oh just go inside," I pushed the resisting Hurtle. He was trying to get back outside.

"Thanks Aph," Adept grinned, realizing the misunderstanding I just caused.

"Aph!"

"Oh c'mon. Smashing you in Hearthstone is long overdue," I taunted.

"Oh puhlease – wait don't change the topic!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said innocently.

"AGH ADEPT!"

What a drama queen.

* * *

><p>1307/2015

Hi. So originally I was going to post this late April, but then I figured I'd make the chapter longer. Well it's July now, and I cut off all the extra stuff because I've been traveling so much that I never got to finish it. I still have one more plane ride to catch so I decided I'd just post it as it was supposed to be, just months late. So yeah... whoops? I'm also going to start dating in the chapters so the timeline is a lot clearer :)

- Adam218, thanks for reading! The plot is going along rather slowly, but I want to try to develop the relationships between the characters before I toss them into the Challenger Series.


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